More storms to come in Western Cape

The Knysna municipality convened a meeting with the joint operations committee on Monday in an effort to quantify the extent of last week’s storm, as well as to manage and minimise the effects of the impending storms tearing through the Garden Route.

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued high-impact weather warnings for the Western Cape, ranging from Yellow level 2 to Orange level 8 warnings as another storm converges on the region.

This follows the torrential downpour that swept through the region, causing millions of rand in damages and displacing dozens of residents.

Monday’s meeting, held in the Knysna municipality council chambers, was led by acting municipal manager Boy Manqoba Ngubo and was followed by a walkabout with mayor Thando Matika and other stakeholders.

“This initiative comes from the mayor’s office to acknowledge the disaster’s impact in Knysna,” Ngubo said. “However, as the municipality, we still need to assess and fully understand the severity of the crisis.

Due to the area’s topography, including streets located in valleys and near streams, it is challenging to safeguard all affected properties

—  Knysna municipality

“There are residents in low-lying areas where flooding persists, and with more rain expected from tonight through Wednesday evening, we must develop a mitigation plan to prevent a repeat of last week’s situation.”

The municipality has already procured sandbags and other materials to help protect homes from flooding, he said. “However, due to the area’s topography, including streets located in valleys and near streams, it is challenging to safeguard all affected properties.”

Road closures

Sixty-one roads are currently closed across the Garden Route region due to ongoing flooding, landslides, fallen trees and infrastructure damage.

Response teams are working continuously to restore access to roads, communities and essential services.

​The R328 between De Kombuys Estate and Cango Mountain Resort remains closed as teams from the Western Cape department of infrastructure and the Garden Route district municipality clear a significant landslide and rockfall. There is currently no estimated time for reopening.

On the eastern side of the region, repairs continue on the N2 at the KwaNokuthula turn-off, where a blocked culvert caused severe road damage.

Stop-and-go traffic control will remain in place while engineers install drainage pipes and stabilise the roadway.

Meiringspoort also remains closed. Motorists travelling towards Willowmore should use the N9.

Schools closed

​The MEC of education in the Western Cape, David Maynier, also announced that in the interests of pupil and teacher safety, and after extensive consultation with the provincial disaster management centre and the South African Weather Service (Saws), a decision has been taken to close all schools in the Western Cape on Tuesday.

“Our default position is always to keep schools open and only close schools in exceptional circumstances, but we are mindful of the severity of the warnings in place,” Maynier said.

“We will continuously monitor and evaluate the situation to ensure that schools can reopen as soon as possible, which is currently expected to be on Wednesday.

“As of 1.30pm on Monday, a total of 227 schools applied for closure in addition to the closure list issued for the Cape Winelands and Eden and Central Karoo districts.”

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