Thousands of Cape Town residents of dozens of informal settlements evacuated their homes on Wednesday as heavy rain and strong winds again battered the city.
The city's Disaster Risk Management centre said thousands more residents of informal settlements were in distress.
Emergency teams were sent out to the worst-hit areas this morning to assess flood damage at 25 informal settlements across the Cape Metropole.
Meanwhile Disaster Risk Management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said 60 people had been taken to the Fada Community Hall in Khayelitsha last night after their shacks were flooded.
On Tuesday 180 flooding victims had been moved to emergency shelters in Philippi and Happy Valley.
She said about 200 shack dwellers in other areas had been driven out of their homes by bad weather and extensive flooding since Sunday.
The Kosovo informal settlement near Philippi had been hit the hardest.
On Wednesday morning Kosovo residents were bailing out their flooded shacks with buckets when the Cape Argus team arrived.
Some were gathering their belongings and moving to higher ground or were going to stay with relatives.
"Every year that area floods, but people just keep moving back there," said Powell.
"We can't give a total of exactly how many people were affected, but a lot of people are living in discomfort."
Powell said areas ranging from Masiphumelele near Fish Hoek to settlements in Strand and low-lying informal settlements across the Cape Flats had been flooded.
The city had provided hot meals and blankets to flood victims and its roads and stormwater departments were busy with mopping-up operations after reports that Strandfontein and Langa residents had been unable to get into their homes because of flooding.
The Noordhoek section of Chapman's Peak Drive was still closed on Wednesday morning after it was hit by two mudslides - one on Sunday night and the other on Monday morning.
No injuries or damage to houses have been reported.
Meanwhile dam levels in the Western Cape are the highest they have been in years.
All of the province's biggest dams are reported more than 100 percent full.
"This year the levels are slightly higher than they were in 2007, but this does not mean people should waste water in summer," warned Paul Rhode, head of the city's bulk water infrastructure branch.
He said the Theewaterskloof, Voelvlei, Steenbras Lower and Upper, Wemmershoek and Berg River dams were all "filled to capacity".
"The rain fell very well and evenly over the past few weeks, which was good news for us."
However, Rhode warned that Capetonians should continue to use water sparingly or they could face water restrictions again.
The Cape Town Weather Office's Riaan Smit forecast more rain later on Wednedsay, but said he expected it to clear by Thursday. - Cape Argus
The city's Disaster Risk Management centre said thousands more residents of informal settlements were in distress.
Emergency teams were sent out to the worst-hit areas this morning to assess flood damage at 25 informal settlements across the Cape Metropole.
Meanwhile Disaster Risk Management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said 60 people had been taken to the Fada Community Hall in Khayelitsha last night after their shacks were flooded.
On Tuesday 180 flooding victims had been moved to emergency shelters in Philippi and Happy Valley.
She said about 200 shack dwellers in other areas had been driven out of their homes by bad weather and extensive flooding since Sunday.
The Kosovo informal settlement near Philippi had been hit the hardest.
On Wednesday morning Kosovo residents were bailing out their flooded shacks with buckets when the Cape Argus team arrived.
Some were gathering their belongings and moving to higher ground or were going to stay with relatives.
"Every year that area floods, but people just keep moving back there," said Powell.
"We can't give a total of exactly how many people were affected, but a lot of people are living in discomfort."
Powell said areas ranging from Masiphumelele near Fish Hoek to settlements in Strand and low-lying informal settlements across the Cape Flats had been flooded.
The city had provided hot meals and blankets to flood victims and its roads and stormwater departments were busy with mopping-up operations after reports that Strandfontein and Langa residents had been unable to get into their homes because of flooding.
The Noordhoek section of Chapman's Peak Drive was still closed on Wednesday morning after it was hit by two mudslides - one on Sunday night and the other on Monday morning.
No injuries or damage to houses have been reported.
Meanwhile dam levels in the Western Cape are the highest they have been in years.
All of the province's biggest dams are reported more than 100 percent full.
"This year the levels are slightly higher than they were in 2007, but this does not mean people should waste water in summer," warned Paul Rhode, head of the city's bulk water infrastructure branch.
He said the Theewaterskloof, Voelvlei, Steenbras Lower and Upper, Wemmershoek and Berg River dams were all "filled to capacity".
"The rain fell very well and evenly over the past few weeks, which was good news for us."
However, Rhode warned that Capetonians should continue to use water sparingly or they could face water restrictions again.
The Cape Town Weather Office's Riaan Smit forecast more rain later on Wednedsay, but said he expected it to clear by Thursday. - Cape Argus
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