After the South African Weather Service issued a level 8 warning for disruptive rain and winds for Thursday July 11, the Sir Lowry’s Pass Village is one of the areas in the Helderberg which had been massively affected by the stormy weather.
The City’s Disaster Risk Management Centre spokesperson, Sonica Lategan says the City’s assessments of the current situation are ongoing with more rain expected due to the level 8 warning.
“This could spell worse scenarios for communities who are already suffering impacts from the cold fronts we experienced over the last week and could further lead to widespread damage or loss of infrastructure, property, vehicles, livelihood and livestock, disruption of municipal and other essential services, extensive loss of agricultural production, mudslides and rock falls may occur in susceptible areas and some communities could be temporarily inaccessible,” she said.
Ms Lategan further advised residents to be aware of the status of rivers and dams in their areas. “We wish to alert residents to be on the lookout for possible overflowing of rivers and canals, and be ready to evacuate their homes should such a call be made by our Disaster Risk Management Centre,” she added.
In response to an update on the current status of locally-located Lourens River and Eerste River, Ms Lategan said although no specific information is available, the City’s Catchment and Stormwater River Management Services are keeping a close eye on dams, rivers and canals across the City.
Earlier in the week the City did make known areas prone to flooding. “In the eastern region of the city, some areas susceptible to flooding include the Sir Lowry’s Pass River in the vicinity of Sir Lowry’s Pass Village and Dennehof Street, the Kuils River at Driftsands Dam, and the Eerste River at Kramat/Sandvlei, Macassar and the Soet River tributaries through informal settlements in Nomzamo and Lwandle,” the City said.
After heavy rainfall this past week flooding was reported in informal areas of Macassar, Nomzamo and Lwandle in Strand and in Sir Lowry’s Pass Village.
Clint Daniels, from Riemvasmaak in Sir Lowry’s Pass Village was busy on Thursday making and distributing soup to informal residents of Rievasmaak and Uitkyk informal settlement heavily affected by the flooding of their homes.
Another Sir Lowry’s Pass Village community member Lea Coetzee says: “We had no power the whole night due to the power lines blown down by the wind. We are all affected by the floods, the people in Uitkyk informal settlements their houses are covered with water.
“Our homes are flooded, we can’t do anything cause our hands are tied. The damage is huge if you leave the Sir Lowry’s Pass Village area you can see the water damage, our people are cold, it’s difficult and things are tough on our side. We need blankets, warm clothes, help with fixing our roofs, we sitting here with wet homes and we can’t make fires to keep warm.”
Community volunteer Elizabeth Visagie, founder of the community initiative Love In Action, highlights the urgent needs faced by residents of Sir Lowry’s Pass Village.
“People are enduring cold, hunger, and escalating stress levels. Their basic necessities such as adequate housing, warm clothing, and food remain unmet. Coupled with the current harsh weather conditions, the situation is dire,” explains Elizabeth.
The community suffers with the ongoing power outages.The present urgent needs now for storm victims of Sir Lowry’s Pass Village says Ms Visagie includes bread, ready-made soup in 2litre containers with lids, candles, 2-minute noodles, baby porridge, black building plastic to cover houses, roof screws and nails to pin plastic over roofs to prevent future rain damage.
Other needs are wood for cooking and warmth, she says fallen branches from the storm can be dropped off in the village instead of taking them to the dump and then there is a need for gas bottles, as gas has been sponsored but four empty gas bottles are needed.
To donate anything to assist the storm victims of SLP contact Ms Visagie by sending her a WhatsApp message on 079 275 7055.
