Monday, September 16, 2013

Gale force winds, rain headed for the Cape

Cape Town - The city has warned residents to expect adverse weather, including gale force winds, for the next few days.

Cape Town’s Disaster Management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said rough seas and north-westerly winds of up to 65km/h were forecast.

“The extended period of precipitation will exacerbate the discomfort levels and flood-risk situation on the Cape Flats as the water table will increase significantly,” he said on Sunday night.

The weather service issued a severe weather alert on Sunday of high seas with waves exceeding 6m between Table Bay and Plettenberg Bay. This would subside overnight.

According to the city, 158 880 residents and 39 505 household structures had been negatively affected by storms last month and this.

It had spent nearly R16 million providing help to people during the winter months. Sunday’s high winds and heavy rain in Cape Town caused further flooding.

Sonja Jordaan who lives in an informal settlement in Schaapkraal said her children were sick and she could not remember a winter as bad as this one.

Her shack was wet and her clothes never dried. “We can’t even light a fire because everything is wet.

“Children can’t live like this,” she said.

“The water is contaminated.

“We can’t take our children to school… how can they walk through it?”

Solomons-Johannes said: “It is private property and has nothing to do with the city.”

matthew.hirsch@inl.co.za

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