Death toll rises as schools reopen and mop-up operations continue after Cape storms
· Citizen
While most schools in the Western Cape reopened on Wednesday, the storm damage in parts of the province has turned from a washout into a tragedy.
Visit freshyourfeel.org for more information.
The City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management department on Wednesday revealed a staggering jump in humanitarian needs, reporting that more than 21 500 households in informal settlements had been impacted, affecting more than 83 000 people.
This updated tally is more than double the figure released on Tuesday morning, when authorities estimated that 41 000 people had been affected.
The surge follows days of heavy rainfall and gale-force winds that have battered the Western Cape, with Monday’s storm responsible for the most severe flooding and structural damage.
The provincial health department confirmed that the death toll had also risen from three on Monday to nine by Wednesday morning.
Following a massive rescue operation between Worcester and Rawsonville on Tuesday morning, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) recovered the bodies of three farmworkers, two men and a woman, found in flooded buildings. The victims were part of a group of 23 people, including infants, a blind man, and a paraplegic man, who had been trapped on the rooftops of farm buildings since Monday to escape rising floodwaters.
“Our rescue crew worked tirelessly despite challenging conditions, often wading and swimming through barely accessible terrain and flooded areas,” said the NSRI’s Craig Lambinon.
He said rescuers used ladders and floating craft to evacuate survivors.
Fatali-trees
A significant number of the fatalities were linked to uprooted trees. Provincial health authorities confirmed that falling trees had claimed five lives across the metropole and the Southern Cape.
An auxiliary social worker, Lauren Fredericks, died in Knysna on 6 May when a tree crushed her vehicle while she was en route to conduct assessments of storm evacuees.
A passenger, Phathiswa Mkunjulwa, in an e-hailing (Bolt) vehicle died early Monday on Tennant Road after a tree collapsed onto the car, where the driver escaped physical injury.
The Southern Cape police said 63-year-old Fancourt employee died in Blanco, George, on Monday after a tree fell onto her car as she was parking at her workplace.
A fifth person was also killed when a tree fell over in the Genadendal area.
Other casualties
The provincial health department confirmed that the death toll includes several other weather-related deaths, where one person in Worcester died after reportedly falling from a roof.
A suspected drowning was also reported near Klaarstroom, Meiringspoort over the weekend amid heavy flooding.
Road closures
Several major roads remained closed on Wednesday, including parts of the N1, Du Toitskloof Pass, Bainskloof Pass and the Huguenot Tunnel, while Citrusdal remained cut off from the N7.
No power in 43 areas
The city also reported that 43 areas were without electricity. The City’s Disaster Risk spokesperson, Charlotte Powell, said on Wednesday morning that, “the storm damage to electrical equipment means restoration time is taking [longer] for certain outages. This is [because] infrastructure must often be replaced completely.”
Wynberg, Gugulethu, Nyanga, Kenilworth and Philippi were among the areas still without power. Paarden Eiland was reportedly the only area where electricity had been fully restored.
Other areas affected:
- Lansdowne
- Steenberg
- Ottery
- Plumstead
- Rylands
- Silvertown
- Newlands
- Durbanville
- Weltevreden Valley
- Southfield
- Constantia
- Langa
- Sybrand Park
- Soneike
- De Kuilen
- Vredekloof
- Brackenfell
- Kuilsriver De Kuilen
- Belthorn Estate
- Kenridge
- Valmary Park
- De La Haye
- Chrismar
- Asanda
- Kensington
- Oakglen
- Manenberg
- Paarden Eiland
- St James
- Bergvliet
- Crawford
- Kewtown
- Wetton
- Diep River
- Lavender Hill
- Meadowridge
- Maitland
- Tijgerhof
“The weather conditions are better today, and if the wind dies down, we hope to resume overhead aerial work, which will enable teams to make significant progress,” said Powell.
Relief efforts
The city is coordinating a massive relief operation with humanitarian partners to provide meals and blankets to those displaced. Key NGOs currently on the ground include Ashraful Aid, Gift of the Givers, Islamic Relief and Mustadafin.
Emergency assistance has already been funnelled into several high-risk informal settlements, including:
- Vygieskraal
- Khayelitsha and Overcome Heights
- Dubai and Ramaphosa informal settlement
- Philippi East, Gugulethu and Valhalla Park
- Lwandle, Mfuleni and Kampies
Powell said that findings are being submitted to the South African Social Security Agency and the National Department of Human Settlements to secure the long-term assistance required for the 83 000 people whose lives remain waterlogged by the week’s events.
Provincial Local Government MEC Anton Bredell said that, as rescue teams mobilised to assist police with ongoing operations, the Western Cape remained on high alert.
With thousands of structures already impacted, officials were bracing for further reports of casualties as assessments reached previously inaccessible rural areas.