Deluge of destruction hits Cape

High winds and heavy rains, which lashed the province over the past two days, washed away bridges and roads and have left thousands homeless.

The Overberg area was worst hit where Bredasdorp, Napier, Struisbaai and Arniston were still cut off by floods on Monday night.

Around 2 000 people have been evacuated from their homes in Bredasdorp; 350 in Napier; 150 in Arniston; and 100 in Struisbaai. Schools in the towns have been closed.

Bredasdorp had 117mm of rain.

Strong winds prevented helicopters bringing aid to the inundated towns yesterday so residents, church groups and municipal officials pitched in and organised soup kitchens, blankets and mattresses for those whose homes were flooded.

Most of the homeless are being housed in community halls.

Napier has been without electricity or water since early on Monday, and by late on Monday had run out of basic foodstuffs like bread.

A Joint Operations Centre has been set up in Bredasdorp with sub-centres in Caledon and Swellendam.

Farmers wanting to lend the townsfolk generators were unable to do so because the roads were impassable.

Napier resident Engela Ambrose, who was concerned about feeding the homeless, said yesterday: "Tonight Napier's going to be dark. There's flood water everywhere, but the water supply is cut off.

"We've run out of bread but I've asked everybody I know to start baking," she said.

Late on Monday, officials from Bredasdorp had resorted to using aluminium ladders to form a bridge across a section of road which had been washed away and were gingerly carrying Bredasdorp's last 150 loaves of bread across the ladders to Napier officials on the other side.

Gail Linnow, of the Cape Town weather office, said the rains had not been caused by a cold front, but by a cut-off low pressure.

"It was a double-decker weather system. There was a south-easter bringing moist air at the surface and higher up there was a low which came from the interior and brought the thunder and rain," Linnow said.

Because of the thunderstorms, rainfall differed greatly over the province. There were heavy rains in Hermanus (164mm) and Kleinmond (131mm) and Elgin (115mm).

The Hermanus-Stanford road was closed while several houses in Hermanus had been inundated with rain.

Fani Kruger from Hermanus said on Monday: "I was stuck in Betty's Bay and couldn't get to my office this morning. There were mudslides and rockslides. A few houses closer to the mountain and near the ocean were flooded because of the rain."

Heavy rains and thunderstorms also lashed the Peninsula where more rain fell in 24 hours at the airport than the long-term average rainfall for April.

The average windspeed measured at Cape Town harbour between 8am on Sunday and 2am yesterday was 80km/h, gusting up to 120km/h, and at Cape Point, 120km/h, gusting up to 160km/h.

Worst hit in the metropole were sections of Bellville, Durbanville, the southern peninsula, Joe Slovo and parts of Khayelitsha.

Traffic was slow because of mud and sand on the roads and trains were held up. There were power cuts in Steenberg, Muizenberg, Lakeside, Kirstenhof, Retreat, Westlake and Marina da Gama. Most of these had been restored by 5pm yesterday.

The mountainside above Boyes Drive gave way under the enormous pressure of the rain, causing silt and water to flood the Lincoln Field houses below.

A number of houses showed signs of serious water damage. Backyards and gardens were metres deep in silt, and roads were filled with sand and rock.

Residents blamed the flood on the recent veldfire that had destroyed mountain vegetation, which would have both absorbed much of the flood and held the topsoil in place, and a housing development in the area, which had resulted in the gutter channels being filled with waste, preventing the diversion of water.

"I wanted rain for my garden," said Heather Bailey, 51. "But this was a bit excessive."

The Cape Town International Convention Centre suffered roof damage early yesterday when 10 roof sheets became dislodged by the wind. One sheet detached entirely and flew over the highway, according to Sharon Baravi, corporate communications manager.

Because the convention centre has a double roof, nothing leaked into the centre. Part of the roof at the Hotel Le Vendome in Sea Point also blew off and three rooms were flooded.

In Groenvallei in the northern suburbs several houses were washed through, with the dirt marks a metre high.

Residents said that water came from two directions, converged, and came right for their doors.

Many chose to alleviate the pressure by opening their doors, allowing the water to run through their homes.

Residents blamed flooding on a clogged drainage system.

In Muizenberg a customer at the Standard Bank died of a heart attack yesterday afternoon. Rescue crews were initially unable to reach him when a power failure automatically locked the doors.

"Basically, we couldn't get to the patient because of a power failure in the bank," said Kevin Price, vice-chairperson of the False Bay Volunteer Service.

The man, in his early forties, had died between the call for help at 13.44pm and the arrival of the fire department and metro ambulance crews at 14.02pm.

Rain in the past 24 hours has had little affect on dam levels so far, said Waheed Patel of the City of Cape Town. The most recent reading yesterday morning showed water levels at 26,3 percent of their total capacity - lower than last Friday's 27,8 percent.

Patel said the next 24 to 48 hours would determine whether run-off from the downpour would significantly impact dam levels.

"Sustained rainfall is needed and one downpour is not enough relief from the drought," Patel said on behalf of Councillor Saleem Mowzer.

"It's still important that residents follow water restriction guidelines."

The Standard Bank's Adderley Street branch experienced roof flooding that affected the bank's computer and electrical systems.

The bank closed for three hours on Monday morning.

The Weather Service issued a warning on Monday of isolated heavy falls along the Cape South coast. Gale force winds were expected around Table Bay and Jeffreys Bay.