Cape of Storms
‘Worst storm in living memory’ wreaks havoc
The death toll from yesterday’s storm in Western Cape rose to to eight with the confirmation that a farm worker, his wife and their son died in a fire in Rheenendal.
A family of four who lived on a farm in the Drakenstein municipality area died due to a fire caused by lightning, and a 60year-old man was killed when a wall fell on top of his Wendy house in Lavender Hill in the southern Cape peninsula.
Dozens of fires were reported to be raging on the Garden Route, fuelled by the ferocious wind. Eden fire chief Clinton Manual said flames were threatening Belvedere, near Knysna, and were spreading towards Brenton on Sea.
At least 11 Western Cape schools have been damaged by the storm.
Education department spokeswoman Jessica Shelver said: “Damage reported includes severe damage to the roofs at four of the schools, water damage to classrooms, fallen trees and damage to fences.”
The “worst storm in living memory” began to unleash its fury on Cape Town early yesterday. Roofs were blown off in Strand‚ Kalkfontein‚ Delft‚ Mfuleni and Mandalay‚ according to the City of Cape Town. Two people were injured when a roof blew off in Lavender Hill.
An uprooted tree landed on a block of flats in Plumstead‚ but no one was hurt. Other trees came down in Durbanville‚ Delft and Plattekloof.
The wind brought down electricity cables in Athlone‚ Weltevreden Valley‚ Pelican Park‚ Schaapkraal‚ Goodwood‚ Boston and Parow Valley. Emergency shelters were opened after roofs and shacks were blown away in Hout Bay’s Imizamo Yethu and Macassar village.
Chapman’s Peak Drive between Noordhoek and Hout Bay was closed‚ there were reports of rockfalls on Clarence Drive between Gordon’s Bay and Rooi Els‚ and power failed at the Huguenot Tunnel‚ leading to a ban on heavy vehicles. A police vehicle overturned on Jakes Gerwel Drive in Parow‚ and the railway line between Wellington and Bellville was closed.
All schools were closed in Western Cape and the province’s four universities – Cape Town‚ Western Cape‚ Stellenbosch and Cape Peninsula University of Technology – followed suit.
SA Weather Service communications director Hannelee Doubell said people should not take the warnings lightly.
“Residents should make real preparations for the storm. They should be prepared to stay inside their homes. Outside they should tie down their belongings because we are expecting abnormally strong winds‚” she said.