Western Cape – The recent storms have caused extensive devastation across various areas in the Western Cape, leaving behind a path of destruction. According to reports, several individuals have tragically lost their lives, and the floods have ravaged numerous homes, properties, and personal belongings.
Furthermore, the flooding has damaged national roads and critical infrastructure, leading to electricity and water supply disruptions to communities within the Western Cape region.
Despite the commencement of humanitarian aid and cleanup operations carried out by City of Cape Town officials and various organisations in the affected areas, along with efforts to restore electricity and water supply by utility group, Shaahida Peters, a resident of the Sandvlei community, has expressed concerns as assistance has not yet reached her community, apart from Gift of the Givers who have been handing out food hampers to residents.
“It’s mostly just the community that’s helping each other, but other than that, it’s not really anyone that’s helping so far?.”
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Much More Work to be Done to Clear the Water
According to the information provided, Sandvlei was among the areas that bore the brunt of the flooding, with numerous houses inundated by water. Although Peters home suffered damage from the flooding, she noted that other homes were in even more dire conditions.
“If you go further down [the road], there’s people that have water till their doors and up to their windows. A lot of things got destroyed. There are houses full of water. So compared to a lot of people on that side, we got it a lot less worse than what they did.”
Even though city officials have initiated cleanup operations, Peters emphasised that the residents of her community have been working tirelessly to lend a hand wherever possible. She mentioned that in the days following the initial flood, community members had actively cleared debris, mud, and water from the affected homes.
“There’s a lot of people still struggling with their homes. There’s still water in the yards and houses [and the whole interior still needs to be dried out].”
