As the Western Cape continues to experience torrential rains, the Western Cape’s Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC) continues to coordinate its response to a series of cold fronts.

In its daily Joint Operations Centre (JOC) briefing, the South African Weather Service (Saws) provided an update on the weather system:

– An Orange Level 8 warning for disruptive rain, strong winds, and mudslides was issued ahead of the latest cold front that made landfall. This warning remains on track for the Cape Town Metropole, Drakenstein, and Stellenbosch areas;

– A Yellow Level 4 warning for damaging winds is in place for Friday, July 12, between Lambert’s Bay and Mossel Bay, as well as over the southern parts of Namakwa (in the Northern Cape), the Cape Town Metro, Cape Winelands, Central Karoo, Overberg and western areas of the Garden Route;

Residents from Wynberg gather their belongings and leave their homes after strong winds blew their roofs off. Photo: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers

– A Yellow Level 4 warning has been issued for damaging waves from Alexander Bay to Plettenberg Bay for the next two days; and

– An Orange Level 6 warning has been issued for strong waves between Table Bay and Struisbaai for the same period.

Dam levels across the province continue to rise, and as of Thursday morning, the Berg River Dam was at 107.13%, Clanwilliam was at 92%, Misverstand was at 155%, and Theewaterskloof Dam was at 83.8%. The Department of Water and Sanitation is closely monitoring the dams.

The 68-metre-high Berg River Dam is releasing millions of litres of water into the Berg River, causing significant rises in the river’s water level. Photo: Henk Kruger / Independent Newspapers

Eskom confirmed its technical teams are working around the clock to restore power to multiple areas. Power faults were reported in Mossel Bay and George on Thursday, while a further 6,000 power interruptions were being dealt with in Worcester and De Doorns, 4,000 people have been affected by power outages in Betty’s Bay and Kleinmond. In the Cape metro, repairs to damaged power infrastructure in Khayelitsha is being impeded by flooding.

Humanitarian relief efforts continued across all affected regions. In the Cape Town metro, 44,000 meals have been provided to people in need, with the help of non-government Organisations (NGOs) since Monday.

Members of the public are urged to continue donating non-perishable food items, blankets, toiletries, and other essentials.

Residents in the Cape Town metro have been the hardest hit, with 6,928 structures across the city affected, impacting over 8,000 people; and since the first cold front made landfall, around 14,000 structures have sustained damages, affecting about 15,000 people across the province.

“Daily JOC meetings will be held until this inclement weather has passed us. I urge all residents to remain safe and not take unnecessary risks. All stakeholders – disaster management teams, law enforcement agencies, NGOs, and faith-based groups – have been working incredibly hard under terrible conditions to keep residents out of harm’s way.

“I cannot thank you enough. We have all shown how we can come together during disasters to help one another. This is the Western Cape that I am so very proud of,” Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said.

robin.francke@iol.co.za

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