The Cape has been in the grip of icy temperatures and heavy rain since which have taken three lives and left thousands homeless.
|||Cape Town - Mopping up operations are continuing in the province as Capetonians look forward to a brief respite from the rain, snow and icy conditions which have had disaster management officials on high alert.
Despite provincial disaster management and fire brigade services reporting that water levels had dropped in dams across the Western Cape, more than 100 people in the Drakenstein and Rawsonville areas still found themselves homeless on Saturday.
Colin Deiner, chief director of Western Cape disaster management and fire brigade services, said 95 people, including children, had been affected by flooding in the Drakenstein area.
In Rawsonville, 24 people were being accommodated in the Rawsonville church hall after being forced from their homes by flooding. “The people in Drakenstein have been put up in a community hall where they have been helped with food and blankets, and the city will provide hot meals for the weekend. Shoprite has also made donations to assist,” said Deiner.
On the West Coast in Beukeskraal and Nuwe Plaas, roads were still not easily accessible, he said.
Closer to home in Lavender Hill, the Community Chest delivered about 1 000 emergency packs, with blankets and non-perishable food to those in need. Community Chest spokesman Abdul Ryklief said they were preparing to make more deliveries.
“(Tomorrow) we will deliver packs with raincoats and boots to a Lavender Hill crèche with over 100 children. This weekend we were unable to get to everyone. We will deliver to those people.”
Cape Town’s disaster management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said on Saturday there were no new incidents of flooding in the city.
City of Cape Town traffic department spokeswoman Maxine Jordaan said no roads were closed. “There were a few bumper bashings (on Saturday) morning,” she said.
Deiner said the situation had improved in the Overberg area, where the Breede River levels had dropped by 250mm overnight.
On Friday, the Department of Water Affairs warned that the average capacity of dams in the province was at 102.35 percent, increasing the risk of flooding.
The province has been in the grip of icy temperatures and heavy rain since early last week, which have taken three lives and left thousands homeless. On Saturday, the mercury dropped to a chilly maximum of 13ºC, and maximum temperatures for Sunday are expected to creep up only slightly to 15ºC.
Besides another cold front set to hit on Monday, the SA Weather Service has issued no new weather warnings.
Weekend Argus