Pounded by cold fronts: Western Cape residents annoyed as more wet weather hampers mop-up operations | News24

• Heavy rain has once again hit the Western Cape.
• Fed-up residents were still trying to clean up their homes after last week’s flooding, when the rain hit.
• The provincial Department of Infrastructure says there is still no access to Citrusdal.

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Despite residents’ hopes for a reprieve, heavy rain and gusty winds continued to batter the Western Cape on Thursday.

This after yet another cold front hit the province.

The heavy downpours exacerbated conditions for residents who were trying to clean up the mess caused by flooding last week.

Zamikhaya Xhego, a resident of Mbekweni in Paarl, said the community had just started recovering when the water levels rose again.

“We are back to square one. The water was subsiding, but now it has come back up because of the rain. It started last night, and now we’re back to square one,” Xhego said.

READ | Western Cape floods: Citrus farmers worry about harvest as Citrusdal remains cut off

Kgotso Sneymes, a 32-year-old resident of Lwandle in Strand, whose shack was also flooded last week, said he was struggling to keep the water out:

“I again couldn’t sleep inside my house because the rain was really hectic and the water was everywhere. The only thing that kept me and my neighbours warm was the fire we [made],” said Sneymes.

Nyanga resident Simpiwe Dhlomo said he was unable to go to work or send his children to school on Thursday morning because of the flooding.

“Everything is just wet. My children’s school uniform is still not dry from last week’s floods, I don’t know how and when our lives will be able to go back to normal if the rain keeps on causing this much damage to the inside of our homes,” Dhlomo added.

Richard Mavezi, a 32-year-old waiter who lives in Dunoon, said his bed was wet after his shack flooded again.

It started raining at around 18:00 on Wednesday while he was on his way home from work.

“When I arrived home an hour later, the water wasn’t too much, and I tried to lie down because I was tired,” he said.

The problems started at 20:00 when the rain intensified, and his roof began to leak. 

“The leaking was so bad that I gave up trying to stop it because water was coming from everywhere,” he added.

“My body still feels tired because I haven’t slept and I had to go to work this morning,” he said.

He suspects that he probably won’t be able to sleep again on Thursday evening because it was still raining when he left his shack in the morning.

“I also need to be there to guard those blankets and mattresses while they dry. They’ll be stolen if I leave them outside,” he added.

In addition, the electric kettle he had recently bought was also damaged.

“I feel like I’ve made no progress. I buy appliances only to lose them due to water damage,” he snapped.

In the Covid-19 informal settlement in Mfuleni, the water is about half a metre deep.

Community leader Nomawethu Hena said residents were waiting for the weather to clear and water levels to drop.

In Mitchells Plain, Susan Gedult said: “Luckily, through the grace of God, no water seeped into my house this time around. I’m so happy about that because it’s really no joke cleaning up the water after your home is flooded.

“What I am really concerned about it my washing that is piling up because there is no sun to dry them. I don’t have a tumble dryer and there is no other way for me to get the wet clothes dry. That is stressing me out about this weather.”

Mike Thompson added that driving into the busy CBD took him close to two hours because of the slow traffic.

“This bloody weather just caused us more headaches. I sat so long in the damn traffic and I feel like it’s again almost time for me to go back home,” he said.

City of Cape Town Disaster Risk Management spokesperson Sonica Lategan said they had received reports of flooded roads and blocked drains in Khayelitsha (Site B), Tafelsig, Overcome Heights, Goodwood, and several other roads across the city.

“At this stage, no other new reports have been received of any significant impacts sustained as a result of the rainfall this morning (Thursday),” said Lategan.

Meanwhile, the provincial Department of Infrastructure says there is still no access to Citrusdal. 

The provincial disaster management department has not received reports of any incidents since the latest cold front made landfall.