Flooding hits Cape Town, affecting over 41 000 residents

Heavy rains and strong winds have caused widespread flooding across Cape Town, with at least 26 informal areas affected and more than 41 000 residents displaced or impacted.

Assessments conducted to date reveal that 10 703 structures have sustained weather-related damage, affecting approximately 41 635 persons. The City’s Disaster Risk Management spokesperson, Charlotte Powell, confirmed that humanitarian relief partners have already begun providing meals and blankets in some of the affected areas, with relief efforts set to be extended as assessments are concluded.

“The findings of the assessments are being submitted to SASSA as the agency mandated to provide humanitarian assistance, as well as the National Human Settlements Department,” Powell said.

Road closures and infrastructure damage

Multiple roads have been flooded across the metropole, with some incidents also impacting surrounding properties. Borcherd’s Quarry from the N2 incoming has been closed, as have Old Mamre and Darling towards Atlantis between Philadelphia and Klein Dassenberg. Some affected roads have lane closures in place.

The Roads and Infrastructure Management Department is actively attending to these incidents. Areas that have already been attended to include Phola Park, Fisantekraal, Bonteheuwel, Parow, Bellville, and Hout Bay. Teams are also working to restore electricity to areas experiencing outages and are clearing trees that were uprooted or lost branches due to strong winds.

Motorists urged to exercise caution

Traffic Services spokesperson Kevin Jacobs urged motorists to remain vigilant on the roads. “Please reduce your speed, drive with your headlights on to increase visibility, and increase your following distance,” Jacobs said.

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Traffic signals have also been affected in various parts of the city. Motorists are reminded to treat affected intersections as four-way stops, allowing other vehicles to proceed if they arrived first, and giving all road users a fair opportunity to cross safely.

Testing centres open but under strain

All Driving Licence Testing Centres (DLTCs) are open; however, some facilities have sustained damage as a result of the weather, while a few continue to experience intermittent network connectivity issues. The public is asked to be mindful of these challenges when visiting a DLTC, and to defer non-essential visits until conditions improve, where possible.

The weather is expected to start easing later today. Residents are encouraged to report service requests through the City’s Call Centre on 0860 103 089, or online via the City’s website or the City App.