Gift of the Givers steps in as Cape Town deluges flood 26 informal settlements

The narrow passages between the homes in New Village informal settlement, located in Nomzamo, Cape Town, have been totally flooded after the intense storms that struck the metro over the past 48 hours. In some places, the water almost reaches residents’ knees.

It has seeped into their homes, drenching clothing and blankets, and damaging appliances. For many families, electricity is either cut off or too risky to use. Yet most continue to stay in their waterlogged homes – there is nowhere else to go.

Resident Gavin Peter told Daily Maverick that he had taken to sitting on his bed with his baby daughter in an attempt to stay dry. It is not the first time his home has flooded, and it takes a long time for the water to subside.

“You can’t be safe here when it’s like this,” he said.

Extreme weather first hit the Western Cape on Sunday, 10 May, when a strong cold front made landfall in the province, followed by a second, more powerful cold front on Monday that caused winds and rainfall to worsen. The South African Weather Service (SAWS) issued a Level 8 weather warning for Monday and Tuesday, noting the high risk of disruptive rain and flooding impacts over the western part of the province.

The storms resulted in major damage to homes, trees and infrastructure on Monday, and reportedly caused the deaths of three people in and around Cape Town.

Ali Sablay, project manager at Gift of the Givers, has been dealing with disasters in the Western Cape for many years, and has seen countless floods in that time. He said that on Monday, the reports of damage and requests for assistance he received in just two hours were the equivalent of what he usually saw over two or three days of storms.

And the calls keep coming in.

Informal settlements in crisis

Charlotte Powell, disaster risk management spokesperson for the City of Cape Town, noted that flooding had been reported on Tuesday, 12 May, in at least 26 informal areas around the metro. An estimated 10,703 structures had sustained weather-related impacts, affecting about 41,635 people.

“We are working closely with our humanitarian relief partners who have already started assisting with meals and blankets in some of the affected areas – this relief will be extended as assessments are concluded,” she said.

“The findings of the assessments are being submitted to [the South African Social Security Agency] as the agency mandated to provide humanitarian assistance, as well as the National Human Settlements Department.”

In Nomzamo alone, 16 areas have reported flooding, according to Simtembile Mfecane, a community leader.

He noted that Ward 85, in which New Village falls, did not have a community hall or other facilities where flood-affected residents could be housed during the disaster. The roof of the hall in Ward 86 was damaged by strong winds on Monday, 11 May, leaving it unusable for relief efforts.

“[The New Village residents] don’t have a choice, they have to stay in the water… We don’t have facilities, we don’t know what to do with them. They have to stay in their houses,” he said.

“[The children] are sitting in their beds, on top of the beds, with the water underneath. It’s bad.”

Every year, when winter came, the community faced the same problem, said Mfecane. He questioned the City of Cape Town’s preparedness for the rainy season and emphasised that the only effective solution for residents of the informal settlement would be relocation to a liveable area.

Gift of the Givers steps in

On Tuesday, Gift of the Givers was on the ground in informal settlements across the Western Cape, providing hot meals, blankets, personal hygiene packs and baby-care parcels.

In the New Village informal settlement, hundreds of people gathered around the food distribution point. With schools closed on Tuesday due to the high-risk weather conditions, the line was crowded with young children holding lunchboxes and bowls.

Zanele Qunta, a New Village resident, said that her three children were all at home. Even before the closure of schools, they had struggled to get to class due to the flooding.

“My place is full of flooding, so we can’t do anything. The water is inside the house, and then we don’t have electricity also. The blankets, the clothing [are wet], we don’t have anything. If you walk in the house, you must have something to step on… like a crate to walk over to go outside,” she said.

“It’s very hard. But we try to sleep because there’s nothing we can do.”

Qunta usually travels to work in Gordon’s Bay, but says the storms this week have prevented her from doing so.

Another resident, Kutazwa Mafika, told Daily Maverick that the medication she takes was destroyed when her home flooded. She suffered a gunshot wound to her head during a gang shooting in 2022, and has struggled with seizures ever since.

“Even now, I don’t have my pills. They are inside the water. I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she said.

She said she hoped that the government would finalise plans to provide land and proper housing for those living in New Village informal settlement – somewhere safe from flooding.

“We are staying here, and we’re here to work. We’re not here because we are happy,” Mafika said.

Widespread need for relief

Gift of the Givers was on standby to assist with the weather-related disaster from Sunday, after warnings issued by the SAWS. On Monday, the organisation reported that it had been inundated with calls for assistance from informal settlements across the Cape Town metro, Drakenstein, Franschhoek, Stellenbosch and Breede Valley.

“My phone has been going off. For the last two days, we’ve had minimal sleep. The calls are coming in from 2am and 3am,” said Sablay.

Accessing the areas in need of support has been a serious challenge for the team. The N1 highway near Worcester was closed due to the poor weather conditions on Tuesday, affecting travel in and out of Cape Town.

“The most challenging part has been logistics, most definitely, and the inaccessibility of roads. We were very optimistic about getting into the Breede Valley District today, as the residents of Spookie Town in Rawsonville were expecting us… the thousands of people in Zwelethemba who were expecting our relief aid to come in,” said Sablay.

“Unfortunately, due to safety concerns [it was called off]… A few minutes after that, mudslides occurred in Du Toits Kloof, near the tunnel in Worcester, and it impacted all four lanes, making it impossible for any vehicles to come through. With the inclement weather, and more [rockfalls], the authorities closed off the area and we do not know how long it’s going to be closed for.”

Sablay noted that with so much damage caused within such a short period, it was going to take communities a long time to recover.

Powell said that the Cape Town Roads and Infrastructure Management Department was attending to flooded roads on Tuesday, and had already addressed issues in Phola Park, Fisantekraal, Bonteheuwel, Parow, Bellville and Hout Bay.

“Teams are also continuing efforts to restore electricity outages in affected areas and clearing trees that have been uprooted or lost branches due to the strong winds,” she said.

Conditions in Cape Town are expected to ease heading into Wednesday, 13 May. DM

If you are interested in donating to the flood-relief efforts, the City of Cape Town has activated donation drop-off points for non-perishable food items, personal hygiene items, nappies and baby formula, as well as blankets/bedding, at the following fire stations:

• Bellville: Belrail Road.

• Goodwood: Corner of Hugo Street and Frans Conradie Drive.

• Lakeside: Corner of Main and Approach Road.

• Milnerton: Koeberg Road.

• Ottery: Corner of New Ottery Road and Strandfontein Road.

• Roeland Street: CBD.

• Strand: Corner of Broadway Boulevard and George Street.

Donations to Gift of the Givers can be made here.