Cape Town - As extreme weather conditions continue to hit the province, the Public Emergency Communication Centre (PECC) reported logging 339 vehicle accidents and tree-obstructing road damage incidents.
The PECC says just over 40% of all calls were related to the impact of the inclement weather and the incidents happened between 6pm last (Wednesday) night and 6am this (Thursday) morning.
According to PECC spokesperson, Estelle Mare Le Keur, during this period, 54 calls were received about flooding of homes and severe weather conditions, while 85 calls related to conditions on the roads, including motor vehicle accidents and trees obstructing roads.
Sussex Road, Wynberg, Cape Town. pic.twitter.com/1sjHcnGRzK
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) July 11, 2024
Le Keur said, “Roughly 10% of calls were for service faults. The PECC staff are more than happy to appropriately redirect general service requests, but we do want to remind the public that the service is for life-threatening emergencies, and to please make use of the general service channels to log any faults like water or electricity outages.
“The PECC also receives its fair share of prank calls – these calls are of concern as they clog the lines and delay assistance to persons who find themselves in a real emergency situation.”
Meanwhile, the Disaster Operations Centre said that Wednesday was a busy night with dozens of calls from the Wynberg area about weather-related impacts.
Checkers please temporarily suspend the sixty60 app services before one of these hardworking men lose their lives. Then open up like a gofundme page and we'll donate to make sure they put food on the table the next few days #CapeStorm pic.twitter.com/GpAKqWrCPI
“Apart from flooded and obstructed roadways, there have also been reports of flooding in a number of residential areas and an electricity outage,” the Centre said.
The Disaster Risk Management Centre (DRMC) was also aware of wind-related damage to several houses in the Wynberg area. More information, it said, would be made available once assessments are concluded.
“The Disaster Coordinating Team will continue to oversee the city’s response to the inclement weather.
“The public is urged to please report service requests via the city’s voice, text, and online channels so that these can be queued for action by the relevant department,” the DRMC said.
The centre also confirmed that the City’s Fire and Rescue Service received an emergency call at approximately 11:20pm on Wednesday night about roofs blown off in Wynberg and damage to overhead electrical wires.
This morning at 5AM. Mitchell’s Plain.
Stay safe, everyone. #CapeStorm 🥶 pic.twitter.com/ykJ08M1X9d
“Crews from Constantia responded to the incident, and found four houses affected on the corner of Sussex and Bute Roads. The occupants of the properties relocated to alternative accommodation.
“Fire Services staff remained on site until the wind died down at approximately 04:30, to ensure there were no further impacts.
“Further investigations and assessments will be undertaken this morning by the Disaster Risk Management Centre,” the DRMC said.
The City said it was facing high call volumes of storm-damaged electricity faults, which were being attended to, and explained, “Damaged infrastructure from inclement weather, theft, vandalism and illegal connections typically takes longer to repair.
“The safety situation in an area also impacts repair work. Accurate times of restoration are regrettably not possible to give.”
Affected areas
Wynberg, Lakeside, Brooklyn, Rondebosch, Kenilworth, Philippi, Plattekloof, Penelyn Estate, Woodstock, Mfuleni, Bergvliet, Fish Hoek, Grassy Park, Meadowridge, Lavender Hill, Lentegeur, Rocklands, Gugulethu, Eagle Park, Steenberg, Constantia, Bishopscourt and Plumstead.
Western Cape