Heavy rainfall caused flooding in informal settlements all over the Overberg.
The heavy downpour affected several areas and left several houses damaged or flooded.
Overstrand Deputy Mayor Lindile Ntsabo, Mayco Member of Protection Services and Crime Prevention, says Marikana and Swartdam informal settlements in Hermanus were some of the areas in the Overstrand worst affected by the heavy rains last week.
Informal settlements in Kleinmond and Gansbaai were also affected by flooding.
Operational Services and Disaster Management teams were hard at work to assess damages and assist those in need of help, especially residents whose homes had been flooded. Teams also distributed sandbags to affected households and worked tirelessly to unblock drains. “People did not want to leave their houses and therefore no evacuation took place,” said Ntsabo.Theewaterskloof Municipality
According to the Theewaterskloof Municipality its region experienced 50 mm rain in an hour on 13 June, but due to the Winter Readiness Programme it recorded minimal flooding incidents.
In Bot River there were stormwater blockages due to flooding. “Other incidents in this area were the subsurface water, mountain water and water veins that caused houses without approved stormwater systems to flood,” the municipality stated.
It was chaos in Grabouw and the Grabouw Roads and Stormwater teams conducted on-site assessments of the flood affected dwellings. “The municipality provided relief to flooded areas,” the spokesperson of the Theewaterskloof Municipality said. “The biggest challenge could be seen in most of the informal settlements that have little to no infrastructure.”
In Genadendal it was mainly Ward 2 that was affected. The high rainfall accumulation caused some problems in Ward 2 like the flooding of roads and formal/informal settlements due to limited stormwater infrastructure.
“During the period of this rainfall there was minor erosion in some roads,” the spokesperson said. “However, all roads are still driveable with caution as erosion may continue with the weather forecast still displaying more rainfall to be expected.”
In Villiersdorp no serious incidents occurred, just a few roads covered with sand and roads that needed to be filled up in the informal area. In Riviersonderend one structure in the Joe Slovo informal settlement was damaged as result of gale-force wind.
Reinard Geldenhuys, Chief of Overberg Fire and Rescue Services, reported no serious flooding or flood damage in the Cape Agulhas district.