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File Image of flooding in Cape Town.
The City of Cape Town says its Informal Settlements Management branch has been activated to provide assistance to residents affected by the inclement weather conditions including a series of heavy rains and cold fronts over the past few days.
It says various NGOs and other partners are out to provide humanitarian relief following flooding and damage, especially to low-lying areas.
Gift of the Givers Communication Liason Officer, Corbin McKrieling says they are working around the clock to bring aid to those in need.
“At the moment we are busy distributing the food, hot meals to the people and we are giving them warm blankets. At this place it’s close to 200. In Kraaifontein it’s close to 400 people. KTC probably over 1000 people. Our teams are spread out over the Western Cape over the Cape Metro Pole, assisting the people in need.”
The CT Disaster Risk Management Centre (DRMC) says hundreds of informal settlements have been impacted by the bad weather.
The Eastern Cape Provincial Government has intensified efforts to coordinate disaster relief and recovery measures following the devastating floods that have impacted the province, particularly in the OR Tambo and Amathole Districts.https://t.co/0HqedNv3WC#GovZAUpdates pic.twitter.com/VxhFPSuYiY
— @SAgovnews (@SAgovnews) July 6, 2025
Distressed residents of Vygieskraal Informal Settlement in Athlone on the Cape Flats, whose dwellings have been waterlogged due to the recent heavy rains, have appealed for assistance. The residents have also called on the authorities to close the nearby canal, which they say is causing flooding to the area when it’s full.
Resident Vuyokazi Ngxangxaza, who has been living in the area for more than 20 years, says their houses are waterlogged every winter season during the heavy rains but the authorities turn a blind eye to their plight.
“All I know is that we’ve been swimming for the past couple of days, or years, that’s how I can best describe our situation. I’ve lost everything and only have the clothes I’m wearing and it’s the same with my children. My worry is that schools are going to re-open and my kids have lost all their school essentials, the only thing we are being provided with is food.”
Veronica De Klerk another resident has called for proper housing after losing everything.
“It’s very bad. This area is flooded and the water is so deep. We have nothing to wear. We can’t switch on the stoves to cook or TVs because we gonna get shocked. We want houses and we want to leave this place. We want a better life.”
