The community of Riverlands near Malmesbury in the Swartland Municipality are asking questions about who will ultimately take responsibility for the damages they have suffered.
In less than two weeks, two severe floods have caused chaos in the small rural town.
Three retention dams on a farm burst their banks last week, and on Saturday a spillway created to release water pressure from a fourth dam, turned into a flash flood in an instant.
The community of Riverlands nearly finished cleaning up the mess of sludge, mud and debris when another flash flood hit. It is a complex issue as the farm where the four dams are located belongs to national government.
However, the property lies within the boundary of the City of Cape Town and the damages caused in Riverlands are within the Swartland Municipality.
The Department of Water and Sanitation, who worked and managed the emergency spillway, says all the water from the dams are drained and no longer pose a threat.
But this is cold comfort as many have no insurance to cover the damages they suffered.
Riverlands resident Eugene Miller says, “I’m worried about who’s going to take responsibility for all this damages. All the people just come here and make promises and promises and nothing happen. I would like to know what’s going to happen.”
Seventy seven-year-old Mertyl Moses is one of many people who says she does not have the financial means for repairs.
On Sunday, she walked up to her home for the first time since it was flooded the day before.
She did not want to be interviewed, but says her husband of 50 years who has since passed, built much of the home that is now unsafe to live in.
Meanwhile, aid organisations continue to support the community. One of them is an animal rescue.
Many people in Riverlands are small-scale farmers with livestock while others have pets like dogs and cats.
The NGO hands out food for animals every day.
Lucky Lucy Foundation, Richard Green says, “We’re coming in again and again because they need whatever resources they have to perhaps buy sheets and matrasses because everything is swept away, or to rebuild their homes. So they don’t have money to care for the animals. So we care for the animals while they’re trying to rebuild their lives.”
The Swartland Municipality still provides care for 128 people that lost everything.
It says it will take eight weeks to replace the water infrastructure that was destroyed. Clean up operations have started yet again.
The video below is reporting more on the story
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