Heavy rains in Cape Town on Sunday flooded roads and houses and caused the Liesbeek River to burst its banks, and there were “extreme weather” warnings of bitter cold over much of the country.
The M3 was flooded where the road dips near UCT, and traffic was backed up as motorists slowed down to plough through the muddy waters.
Many shacks on the Cape Flats were flooded and the city council and charity organisations provided hot meals, blankets and plastic sheeting to about 350 families.
The SA Weather Service said on Sunday’s cold front had been particularly strong, adding that the cold, wet weather was here to stay for the next few days....
...Charlotte Powell from the city’s disaster management said parts of the BM section of Khayelitsha had been flooded on Saturday evening and on Sunday morning.
She said the Mustadifin Foundation, Red Cross and Salvation Army had provided hot meals and blankets to the 350 families living in shacks.
In Khayelitsha many residents said flood waters were seeping through the floors because the houses did not have proper foundations.
Nosipho Ngqunge had to put her bed on bricks to keep the blankets off the flooded floor.
In Happy Valley, Blackheath, Anita Andrews, eight month’s pregnant, was lying on a wet mattress while her boyfriend made a fire inside their shack to ward off the cold and dry their belongings.
“I am tired of lying on the ground. Why don’t they (the council) fix our houses?
“They bring us plastic, how will that help? The water is still going to suck us in,” she said.
The weather office said snowfalls were likely on higher mountain peaks on Sunday. Because of the thick cloud, it was not possible to see whether it had snowed.
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