More than 5 500 informal settlement residents took advantage of the sunshine on Sunday and cleaned up their homes damaged by lashing rains at the weekend.
According to Cape Town's City Disaster Management Centre, about 1 750 people took refuge in community halls which the city had set aside for flood victims, while the rest stayed to guard their belongings.
It said about 1 535 shacks around the city were flooded.
In Lotus River, where 500 people who were affected by flooding chose not to go to a community hall, residents said they had been using buckets to empty their shacks of water.
Bonani Mlonyeni said he had been cleaning his shack since Saturday morning. No matter what he did, he said, his shack remained damp throughout winter.
Vuyokazi Mavatha said she was trying not to think of the possibility that her roof, damaged by the rain, could cave in under the pressure.
At the weekend, the province's joint operations centre dealing with displaced foreigners merged with the city's operations centre dealing with flood relief efforts.
By Sunday, the areas worst affected included Kosovo and Phola Park, where in each area about 1 200 residents were displaced, the Disaster Management Centre said.
Earlier, at least 1 500 residents were housed in the Browns Farm Community Hall and another 250 in the Weltevreden hall, but they returned home to clean up.
Disaster Management Centre spokesperson Wilfred
Solomons-Johannes said many areas were waterlogged, which could lead to "public health risks associated with stagnant polluted water".
He said the city's transport, roads and stormwater department was pumping stagnant water out of the affected areas.
Authorities have also been dealing with up to 9 000 displaced foreigners and trying to "avoid" housing them with locals in case of more xenophobic attacks.
Robert MacDonald, on Sunday spokesperson for Mayor Helen Zille, said the foreigners were being housed in either safety camps or community halls.
"We're trying to avoid having (locals) placed with foreigners. There's plenty of space in community halls. At first the halls were housing at least 6 000 people. Now there are about 1 500 people. Some halls have few people and we plan to move them together to free more
halls for flood victims," he said.
More than 100 refugees staying outside the Caledon Square Police Station since Wednesday were still there last night, a spokesperson at the station said.
The SA Weather Service said the heavy rains were
expected to ease this week.
Meanwhile, the SA Red Cross Society is appealing for donations of warm clothes, food and blankets. The society's secretary-general, Mandisa Kalako-Williams, said it did not have enough of these items to cater to the displaced foreigners and the flood victims.
Donations may be dropped off at 21 Broad Road, Wynberg.
Jo Maxwell, founder of the Good Night and God Bless sleeping bag project, also appealed for volunteers to help make the bags because she had cracked her ribs and could not carry on the work. She can be contacted on 021-685-4517.
- Cape Times
According to Cape Town's City Disaster Management Centre, about 1 750 people took refuge in community halls which the city had set aside for flood victims, while the rest stayed to guard their belongings.
It said about 1 535 shacks around the city were flooded.
In Lotus River, where 500 people who were affected by flooding chose not to go to a community hall, residents said they had been using buckets to empty their shacks of water.
Bonani Mlonyeni said he had been cleaning his shack since Saturday morning. No matter what he did, he said, his shack remained damp throughout winter.
Vuyokazi Mavatha said she was trying not to think of the possibility that her roof, damaged by the rain, could cave in under the pressure.
At the weekend, the province's joint operations centre dealing with displaced foreigners merged with the city's operations centre dealing with flood relief efforts.
By Sunday, the areas worst affected included Kosovo and Phola Park, where in each area about 1 200 residents were displaced, the Disaster Management Centre said.
Earlier, at least 1 500 residents were housed in the Browns Farm Community Hall and another 250 in the Weltevreden hall, but they returned home to clean up.
Disaster Management Centre spokesperson Wilfred
Solomons-Johannes said many areas were waterlogged, which could lead to "public health risks associated with stagnant polluted water".
He said the city's transport, roads and stormwater department was pumping stagnant water out of the affected areas.
Authorities have also been dealing with up to 9 000 displaced foreigners and trying to "avoid" housing them with locals in case of more xenophobic attacks.
Robert MacDonald, on Sunday spokesperson for Mayor Helen Zille, said the foreigners were being housed in either safety camps or community halls.
"We're trying to avoid having (locals) placed with foreigners. There's plenty of space in community halls. At first the halls were housing at least 6 000 people. Now there are about 1 500 people. Some halls have few people and we plan to move them together to free more
halls for flood victims," he said.
More than 100 refugees staying outside the Caledon Square Police Station since Wednesday were still there last night, a spokesperson at the station said.
The SA Weather Service said the heavy rains were
expected to ease this week.
Meanwhile, the SA Red Cross Society is appealing for donations of warm clothes, food and blankets. The society's secretary-general, Mandisa Kalako-Williams, said it did not have enough of these items to cater to the displaced foreigners and the flood victims.
Donations may be dropped off at 21 Broad Road, Wynberg.
Jo Maxwell, founder of the Good Night and God Bless sleeping bag project, also appealed for volunteers to help make the bags because she had cracked her ribs and could not carry on the work. She can be contacted on 021-685-4517.
- Cape Times
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