Strong gale force winds and heavy downpours caused widespread disruptions across large parts of Cape Town on Monday morning.

On Friday, the South African Weather Service issued an orange level 8 weather warning for the city, the West Coast and Cape Winelands. The second of those predicted frontal systems made landfall on Monday.

The City of Cape Town said this morning that several roads had flooded as a result of the rain, while in some areas trees had toppled over, roofs had blown off, and drains were blocked.

Flooding

Flooding was reported in Mitchells Plain’s Ward 81. It affected several streets including Morgenster, Dagbreek, Westpoort, Park Avenue, Eisleben and Spine Road. Ashley Potts, ward councillor, said he was aware and was assessing the current situation. Flooding was also reported in parts of Khayelitsha, Hout Bay, Strand, and the Nyanga hostels.

Potts said that the City’s disaster risk management had also received reports of storm damage across several areas in his ward, including roofs that had blown off in Westridge, Mitchells Plain and Hanover Park.

According to his report, a road also collapsed in Church Street, Bellville, and a sinkhole was reported in Atlantis which has since been repaired.

It was reported that the Harvester Primary School in Mitchells Plain had flooded and that the whole school had to be taken to the hall.

Flooded roads were also reported at Rockley Road, Wynberg. The roadway under the bridge was completely under water. Motorists were told to avoid the area and not attempt to drive through the flooded water.

Trees blown over

On Sunday afternoon, a tree had fallen over in Combrink Street in Monte Vista which was safely removed and cut up by the local neighbourhood watch and a private security company. The SABC reported that a woman was injured and transported to hospital after a tree fell on her car in Plattekloof, amid adverse weather conditions. Two trees also fell on vehicles in the parking area at Tygerberg Hospital.

A signboard was blown over and landed on a vehicle in Uys Krige Drive, Plattekloof on Monday causing an obstruction.

It was reported that the roof and parts of structures of the Glencairn Spar and Garage had also blown off, as a result of strong winds.

Meanwhile, a wall collapsed onto a Wendy house in Honolulu Street, Tafelsig, councillor Norman Adonis said. He was on the scene and called for an ambulance. A mother of two was injured in the accident.

Accidents

In Bothasig a vehicle collided with a pole. The local Community Policing Forum said a sudden gust of wind caused the driver, a senior, to lose control and collide with the pole. The driver was not injured. A collision also occurred on the R27 (West Coast Road) in the bad weather which involved a MyCiti Bus and another vehicle.

A motor vehicle accident was reported at Adderley Road and Mosselbank River in Durbanville in the wet weather as well. Bassett Alarms said their officers arrived on the scene and assisted until the emergency services had arrived. No injuries were reported.

The City said Chapmans Peak Drive had been closed due to the weather.

Electricity outage

Eskom said multiple outages were reported as severe weather had hit Cape Town.

Heavy rainfall and flooding in parts of the Western Cape have left customers without electricity supply, the power supplier said. In the Cape Metropole, the affected areas were Eersterivier, Lynedoch and parts of Khayelitsha.

An electricity outage was reported early on Monday in Philippi. The affected areas include Olieboom Road, the top of Kraal and Varkensvlei and surrounds. A report sent out by local ward councillor Elton Jansen said, that there is a high probability that the outage was caused by strong winds. “Please note, during inclement weather, power outage normally occurs because of infrastructure damage,” he said. No estimated restoration time was given.

Power outages had also occurred in the Cape Winelands, Boland, Garden Route, West Coast and Overberg and Overstrand areas.

Eskom recovery teams are conducting fault finding while closely monitoring the weather, it is likely that restoration efforts will be delayed due to unsafe conditions, and we appeal to the public to remain patient while we aim to restore electricity supply as soon as possible, they said.

City monitoring impacts

Charlotte Powell, disaster risk management spokesperson, said on Monday that their disaster operations centre is monitoring the impact.

“By late yesterday evening, our services had logged reports of roofs blown off in Mitchells Plain and Hanover Park, localised flooding in several informal settlements, flooded roadways and blocked drains, electricity outages and fallen trees.

“Reports are starting to come in this morning of similar impacts in areas around the metropole – but no major impacts have been recorded thus far. We expect that the rate of reporting will increase as daylight sets in,” she said.

Assessments will continue in affected informal settlements that have been reported to date, she said.

“This morning there are numerous reports of impacted roadways, either due to flooding or because of fallen trees.” 

Traffic

Earlier Monday morning, Kevin Jacobs, traffic services spokesperson, said that they have had no reports of major accidents on the roads so far.

“However, on the M3 at Rhodes Drive, a tree is obstructing the roadway and there are reports of live wires across the roadway on Rosmead Avenue in the vicinity of the Wynberg Fire station. Traffic officers are on scene and have affected a lane closure,” he said.

There is also widespread localised flooding of roadways, so we urge road users to be incredibly careful, said Jacobs.

“Please slow down to avoid the risk of aquaplaning – drive with your headlights on to ensure you are visible to oncoming traffic and allow additional travel time to get to your destination.”

He said motorists should also use navigational tools to help identify potential traffic obstructions or delays on their route.

Arrive Alive also urged motorists to be cautious on the roads. “Only go on the roads if you cannot avoid doing so when it rains like this. Golden rules for driving in the rain – drive with lights on, reduce speed, increase following distance,” the organisation said.

Report emergencies to the City Public Emergency Communication Centre on 021 480 7700.

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