Kensington community launches disaster management team to combat winter risks

• The Kensington community is forming a disaster management team due to winter’s heavy downpours, focusing on fire and flood response.
• Councillor Cheslyn Steenberg emphasizes the need for volunteers and donations to support disaster relief efforts and educate on preventive measures.
• The City’s disaster risk management efforts and community involvement are vital in addressing the challenges posed by severe weather conditions.

With the winter season bringing heavy downpours, the Kensington community is on a mission to establish a disaster management team to deal with tragedies such as fires and flooding.

Cheslyn Steenberg, Ward 56 councillor, says the volunteer team will consist of residents who have experience in fire and rescue services, medics, food relief, flooding, donation sourcing, media, and chaplaincy, among others.

Steenberg says the aim is to be ready when disaster strikes.

“Winter is upon us. With that comes natural disasters which place us in uncomfortable situations most times. We see informal homes flooding, or fires breaking out and when it happens then the first call is made to the ward councillor. I cannot always respond immediately. With this initiative, we can work as a team to respond to the needs.”

Volunteers needed

According to Steenberg, the aim is not to erase the assistance supplied by the City of Cape Town’s disaster risk management teams.

He appeals to residents to form part of this initiative.

Steenberg says while the team will only be active until August, he hopes to look at a longer term.

He explains that the team will also do awareness campaigns and inform people about the dangers of leaving fires or electrical appliances unattended.

According to Steenberg, the group will also undergo some basic training on ways to deal with calamities.

He is also appealing for donations, which he explains will be distributed to fire victims.

“We appeal to people to donate things like non-perishable food, blankets, crockery, toiletries and pre-loved clothes. This we will keep and then distribute to those affected by fires and floods or other natural disasters.”

Areas affected

During heavy pours last week, the City said officials from its disaster risk management centre (DRMC) made assessments in 41 informal settlements where 1 221 structures flooded and 2 246 persons were affected.

Areas most affected included Khayelitsha, Strand, Gugulethu, Sir Lowry’s Pass Village, Wallacedene, Vygieskraal, Bloekombos, and Hout Bay.

Between July last year and March this year, the DRMC recorded 10 299 incidents during severe weather episodes, affecting 21 419 people.

JP Smith, the Mayco member for safety and security, says the City does a lot of proactive work around disaster mitigation.

“These weather events make planning so much trickier, because how do you possibly mitigate the impact of level six damaging winds, for example? DRM’s slogan is that disaster risk management is everybody’s business, and so as we head into our winter period, I call on the public to take this to heart, and do their bit to safeguard their properties, and their communities.”

Residents are reminded that they too can do their bit to help reduce risks to their properties by:

• Clearing out drainage systems;
• Raising the floor level of a structure so that it is higher than the natural ground level;
• Raise furniture on bricks to clear from the floor to limit water damage;
• Make sandbags;
• Dig trenches around the house to divert water away from the house;
• Report blocked drains, intakes and illegal dumping – illegal dumping in stormwater canals and sewers make flooding worse;
• Waterproof roofs, clear gutters and remove dead tree branches.