Wet weather forces families to flee

Heavy rains on Saturday flooded dozens of shacks in Freedom Park informal settlement in Tafelsig and families were left without accommodation.

Community worker Najwa Galant said about 50 families were affected by the floods and did not have alternative accommodation, so they were standing in groups outside their homes.

"I am sitting with these families and they have nowhere to go. They are soaking wet and have had to move from their shacks and I don't know what to do," she said.

Galant said even though Disaster Management had visited the families it had only provided families with "50 blankets, clothes and a few pair of shoes".

She said most of the residents did not want to go back into their homes because their floors were covered with water.

"We need a place where they can go because they can't stand in the rain and we don't know how long the rain will continue for," said Galant.

Ward councillor Sheval Arendse said almost every home in certain streets had suffered.

"They are still outside in the rain and we are trying to see where we can move them to until the rain has subsided," he said.

Disaster Management spokesperson Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said there had been other "minor incidents" across Cape Town, such as blocked drains and City of Cape Town and their own teams had been deployed to sort things out.

"Those areas have now been cleared and we will continue to do so as we get calls."

Solomons-Johannes said they were on "high alert" for any eventuality as the winter season had now started.

He appealed to residents to heed weather warnings in the media. - Weekend Argus