Calls flood in to Cape rescue personnel
2009-07-13 12:56
Verashni Pillay
Cape Town - Three rivers burst their banks and flooded roads were closed as heavy rains continued in the Western Cape on Monday morning.
The Lourens River in Somerset West as well as the Liesbeek and Black Rivers in Cape Town burst their banks as rains in excess of 50mm hit the region on Sunday.
The Molteno Reservoir in central Cape Town recorded 80mm while Somerset West had more than 90mm over 24 hours, the South African Weather Office said.
The Main Road in Somerset West was flooded, and staff at the local KFC battled to keep out water on Sunday. "It looks like it's starting again now," the restaurant's manager told News24 on Monday morning.
Elgin Valley in the Cape Overberg region experienced its heaviest rains since 2004 with 148.2mm recorded over 24 hours.
Meanwhile, evacuations were under way at some of the high-risk informal settlements around Cape Town, the city's emergency services spokesperson Charlotte Powell said.
Cape Flats badly hit
Areas on the Cape Flats bore the brunt of the rainfall, she said, referring particularly to BT Section informal settlement in Khayelitsha, Masiphumelele, Sweet Home and Kosovo.
Roads in Newlands, Camps Bay, Rondebosch and around the River Club in Observatory were also flooded, leaving cars water-logged. There were also reports of flooding at the Baxter Theatre complex in Rondebosch, resulting in the cancellation of performances.
Meanwhile emergency call centres across the province were inundated with calls as motorists battled closed and flooded roads.
The situation brought out the Good Samaritans in some.
Dayyan Leach told News24 he was stranded on Sunday night on the N2 heading towards the Borchards Quarry turnoff. "To my surprise as I took the left turn I stunned by what looked like a mini Atlantic ocean," he said. "There was no way forward from the point. The entire road was flooded more than 100m from the robots."
Fortunately for Leach, a Golden Arrow bus driver solved his predicament. "The driver opened his doors and told me to reverse as he would assist me in getting through the flood. He rushed through the 'ocean' and like Moses parting the Red sea, immediately made a way for me to pass through."
The M5 at the N2 turn-off was closed on Monday morning but was now re-opened to traffic. The R44 between Gordons Bay and Rooi Els was still closed to traffic.
The NSRI reported that no serious incidents had been reported at sea over the weekend.
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