Cape Town roads flooded as more rain expected, leading to concerns about poorer areas

10 June 2020 - 10:02 By Claire Keeton
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A street under water after heavy overnight rain in Hanover Park, Cape Flats.
A street under water after heavy overnight rain in Hanover Park, Cape Flats.
Image: Esa Alexander/Sunday Times

Lashing rain and high winds hit greater Cape Town as forecast overnight, precipitating flooding in the Cape Flats and running water in the streets early on Wednesday.

The Western Cape and Northern Cape were on alert this week for a cold front, which was expected to bring heavy rain, potential flooding and snow.

Environmental scientist Simon Gear said: “Big cold fronts are expected in the middle of June. The difference in winters for Cape Town is from the number of fronts rather than how strong any individual one is.”

The Western Cape is forecast to have a wetter winter than in 2019 and the dam levels are already higher than they were this time last year, after recent rain.

“There are always two sides to flooding: the amount of rain that falls and the number of people affected. The latter is independent of the climate,” says Gear, who was the weatherman for Cape Talk and Radio 702 for 17 years.

“In Cape Town there are communities living in areas on the Cape Flats where the water does collect after rain. This flooding has been an ongoing problem,” he said.

A child skips through a deep puddle in Hanover Park on the Cape Flats.
A child skips through a deep puddle in Hanover Park on the Cape Flats.
Image: Esa Alexander/Sunday Times

Mncedisi Twalo, an activist for Abemi SA, which represents people in informal settlements, said he could see flooding all around him in Gugulethu after a stormy night.

“Tambo Square, Europe, KFC, Barcelona. These areas are flooded with water after rain from the early morning,” he said. “We don’t have a plan B. In the past, people could go to the community hall and be assisted, but with Covid, it is going to be very much worse.”

Heavy rainfall is expected until Thursday across the Western Cape, including Cape Town, the winelands, the Overberg and the West Coast, the SA Weather Service has warned. 

The winelands, which is still recovering from a severe drought, received good rains on Wednesday morning and the wine estates are hoping for more rain this week.

Cathy Brewer, the export manager for Villiera wine estate in Stellenbosch, said: “We had received 1ml by 7am this morning - from then until lunchtime a further 26ml.”

For wine estates – who were crippled by the alcohol ban during levels 4 and 5 of lockdown – the rain brings relief and the timing is right.

“We are really happy. It is beautiful and we really need the rain. The soil moisture was low. This is a great time to have moisture in the ground just before pruning,” said Brewer of Villiera, the biggest producer of sparkling wine in the Western Cape.

Herman le Roux, commercial director of Linton Park wine estate in the Boland, said: “We received good rain during the morning but no flooding nor any sign of gale force winds.”

The sloping vineyards at Linton Park looked dry a month ago and its sloping vineyards ranged between empty and a quarter full: two were empty, one was 5%, one 10% and the last one 25%.

But the Western Cape is forecast to have a wetter winter than 2019 and the dam levels are higher than they were this time last year, after recent rain.

People who live on the streets wrapped themselves in plastic sheeting in Sea Point to try to get protection from the lashing rain and wind.


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