Heavy rain flooded shacks in Ekhuphumuleni and Bekhela informal settlements, affecting 480 people
Peter Luhanga
- Learners ferried across flooded roads by the Dunoon Taxi Association and SAVE Foundation.
- Residents wade through knee-deep water to retrieve belongings.
- The City says the area is unsuitable for housing, and the water can’t drain because the stormwater system is blocked by illegal buildings and dumping.
About 480 people had their homes flooded when a dam behind Dunoon municipal hall overflowed into Ikhuphumuleni and Bekhela informal settlements after heavy rain early last week.
The foul-smelling water also disrupted learners on their way to school.
The rain, which began on Monday 4 August and continued into Tuesday, caused the dam to overflow and flood homes, including some built on its edge.
By nightfall, residents were wading through knee-deep water to salvage belongings.
Beds were propped on bricks to keep them dry, and furniture was left soaked.
The flooding made Usasadza Road from Potsdam Road inaccessible, as well as Waxberry Road near Inkwenkezi Secondary School.
On Waxberry Road, floodwater turned the tarmac into a reflective sheet dotted with floating debris, forcing learners walking to school to wait at the roadside for a safe way across while vehicles inched through the pools.
South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) national executive committee member Bulelwa Mayende, who also serves as assistant to municipal ward councillor Messie Makuwa, said Monday’s rush hour turned chaotic when the entrance to Usasadza Road from Potsdam Road became impassable. Mayende said she was forced to enter the area through Dumani Road, the only other accessible route.
Mayende later helped direct traffic along Waxberry Road, where water reached knee height and debris, including discarded tyres, littered the surface.
She said she had requested assistance from the Dunoon Taxi Association to ferry the children across the flooded road in minibus taxis and drop them at school. The SAVE Foundation also made several trips in its vehicle, transporting learners to Inkwenkezi Secondary School.
Inside Ekhuphumuleni and Bekhela informal settlements, residents worked to clear water from their homes. Mayende said some canals and stormwater drains had been obstructed because shacks were built over drainage channels, and some RDP houses had been extended onto public walkways, blocking access to the stormwater drainage system.
She said some of the shacks closest to the dam were still taking in water from the saturated ground, which was pushing up through the floors.
“Shacks near the dam are still battling water seepage,” said Mayende.
Every winter, the dam fills with rainwater runoff from surrounding informal settlements before spilling into downstream shacks. Last July, the same dam overflowed, flooding homes in Ekuphumuleni informal settlement, affecting 172 residents.
When asked why the dam behind Dunoon Municipal Hall had not been dredged or re-engineered to safely manage water retention and overflow during winter rains, and whether the City considered it a structural risk to adjacent shacks and public infrastructure, the City of Cape Town’s mayco member for urban mobility, Rob Quintas, said officials had been trying to access the site for the past six years.
Quintas said investigations had been carried out to determine how the City could assist, but work could not proceed because residents had built shacks directly over the infrastructure.
Quintas said this made it impossible for officials to locate or clear the stormwater system.
He said blockages were being caused by illegal dumping.
“The reality is that the people would have to move out of this area for any work to be done. The City has stated many times before that the land is not suitable for human habitation because of the risk of flooding,” said Quintas.
City’s Disaster Risk Management spokesperson, Charlotte Powell, said the department’s annual flood risk assessment for winter preparedness had found that residents were living in a natural watercourse, an area she described as unsuitable for habitation.
The only viable long-term solution, Powell said, would be to relocate them to higher ground.She said Disaster Risk Management staff assessed the affected households and coordinated emergency assistance, providing “soft relief” through the City’s humanitarian relief partners. “Building rubble, milling and sand were supplied by the Roads and Infrastructure Management Service,” she said.
