Heavy rains caused flooding in informal settlements and roads as well as power outages in certain parts of Cape Town last week.
Disaster risk management teams made assessments in around 100 informal settlements including Overcome Heights in Seawinds.
Karen Mentoor, secretary of the Overcome Housing Forum committee, has been living in Overcome Heights for more than 24 years. Her home is flooded every winter, she says.
“Every time it’s winter, we are flooded. We’ve been trying to have meetings with the council for years. We’ve been asking to put in some drains. A channel will be the perfect answer for this area.
“Last year, they came to us, they said there is funding, but we don’t know where the money disappeared to. There is no drainage on this side. There is only sewerage drains but no storm water drains where the water can run to. When it’s raining, because I am in a lower area, my house just floods. I blocked it off with sand bags and they are making a difference. We’ve been talking to the City and we’ve been telling them about our struggles. Mayors have been voted in, they’ve been making us promises and nothing is happening for Overcome Heights.
“We’ve even asked before the winter starts, let’s have a safety winter awareness thing, but they never responded to winter awareness. Now when it is wet, they can bring the sand bags, but we asked for a winter awareness.”
Resident William Lewis said they have been asking the City for storm water drains and channels but to no avail.
“It’s four years now that we are talking about that channel. There was money allocated to fix this road. Our concern is where the water runs to and some of the people’s houses are lower than the road.
“The reason is the houses are lower than the road because every year there is grading and milling so the roads become higher than the houses. All the water is running into the people’s homes because there is no other place the water can run to.”
He added that their main concern are children and the elderly who are getting ill from the water.
“When the places are wet like this, children pick up fevers. There is disease in this water. The stagnant water is getting bacteria because when the water turns green it creates a lot of sickness . . . not only for the children but the older people, even you and me.
“If there comes more rain there is going to be worse flooding. Nobody comes in here to do something. Talk is cheap, you can say I’m going to do this and that but nothing happens, then there is no progress in the work. We are voting every year; the ministers are sitting in the offices making promises for a better life for our people, but at the end of the day it is still the same thing.”
Ward 45 councillor Mandy Marr, who visited the flood victims, said storm water drains were supposed to be laid in February. “We need to have the new storm water drains laid. My understanding was that it was going to be done in February, so I am just following up on where the delay is. What I did ahead of the wet weather last week Monday, I contacted disaster risk management and I asked them to please come and do an assessment ahead of the flooding to arrange the sand bags and the milling.”
She added that 500 sand bags had been delivered in the flood prone area.
“We’ve had 500 so far and we’ve got about 200 still to come. There’s been two deliveries so far and we are waiting for the third delivery of the sandbags and the milling.
“Obviously this is a bit of a systemic problem, the houses are built lower than the road, so that is an issue and of course we can’t expect residents to start putting their houses on stilts.
“You know we have to in a lot of ways be reactive instead of proactive. So yes, the channel for this road is definitely something we need to follow up on and I am trying to organise some roof sails so that people don’t have their roofs flooded. And yes, it happens every single year in exactly the same place.”
Mark Wyngaard says everything in his home was drenched during the rains.
“Everything is wet, my bedding, underneath the beds and the roof is the main problem. This happens every year for the past 14 years that I have been here.
“I have to move until the rain subdues and then I have to come back and put my stuff back out in the sun until it gets dry.
Nombeko Ncapayi said her roof was leaking and water was seeping in through the side of her home.
