Provincial disaster classification sought as storms affect 100,000 people in Cape Town

The Western Cape has asked the National Disaster Risk Management Centre to declare this week's extreme weather a provincial disaster which has affected 100,000 people in the City of Cape Town.

“We have a huge humanitarian situation to deal with and authorities are working together to address this,” local government, environmental affairs and development planning MEC Anton Bredell said on Friday.

“We have approached the National Disaster Risk Management Centre for a provincial disaster classification and expect an announcement soon.”

It was confirmed at a joint operations centre meeting on Friday that 100,000 people had been affected by flooding, wind and rain in Cape Town and 33,000 structures had been damaged.

The South African Weather Service has confirmed a level 6 warning for disruptive rain in Drakenstein, Stellenbosch and Witzenberg for Saturday and Sunday.

“According to the predictions, we can expect from 60mm to 100mm of rain in the mountainous areas. Our dams and rivers are full and our catchments are saturated, so any additional rainfall could lead to flooding, mudslides and rockfalls. We repeat our call to the public to stay safe, avoid unnecessary travel and keep informed through reputable news outlets,” said premier Alan Winde.

Further inland, the town of Citrusdal is cut off from the rest of the province.

The water and sanitation department reported dam and river levels continue to rise:

• The Breede River at Swellendam was flowing at more than 1,000m³ per second, a level where the river could start to breach its banks. Larger volumes are expected to come down the river in the coming days.
• Clanwilliam Dam in the Olifants River is at 107% and the controlled release of 1,100m³ per second is being implemented.
• In Laingsburg, the Floriskraal dam is at 118% and communities have been alerted to the risk of flooding.
• The Berg River Dam is at 103%.
• The Theewaterskloof Dam is 90% full.
• Voëlvlei dam is at 79% capacity.

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