Cii Radio| Ayesha Ismail| 20 June 2016| 14 Ramadaan 1437
Cape Town – About 6 500 people across the Cape Flats were affected as severe weather conditions hit the City leaving homes in some informal settlements flooded. In Barcelona, in Gugulethu, residents had to navigate their way through water-logged streets while others lit fires to keep warm.
Close to 1 600 families in Khayelitsha, Philippi and Gugulethu experienced flooding of their homes while in Sweet Homes informal settlement residents donned plastic sheets as they braved heavy downpours while fighting a losing battle using buckets, basins and spades to keep the water out of their houses.
City Disaster Risk Management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said that welfare organizations Mustadafin Foundation, SA Red Cross Society and the Historical Disadvantaged Individuals’ foundations provided relief to affected families, but no emergency shelter has been activated.
Sunday’s maximum temperature was 13°C and there was 80 percent rainfall.
Sweet Homes community leader Luxolo Pezisa said conditions were bad, but residents had become used to flooding. He added that this is the story of every winter. What makes matters worse is that the shacks are built on sand. There are shacks where underground water emerges in winter and residents were trapped in their shacks on Sunday as the streets became waterlogged.
Source- IOL news
Photo Credit – IOL news
