Efforts to restore flood-damaged roads in Western Cape continue

Emergency teams across the Western Cape are working around the clock to restore roads damaged by severe flooding.

Strong winds and heavy rains wreaked havoc along major routes across the province over the long weekend.

Scores of locals who had gone away were forced to delay returning home due to damaged roads leading in and out of the Western Cape, including Sir Lowry’s pass and the N2 in the vicinity of Botrivier.

While there’s still much work to be done, the Cape Winelands District Municipality’s Jo-Anne Otto said progress has been made in some of the affected areas.

“The Cape Winelands District Municipality’s technical services can confirm that the N1 at De Doorns has been reopened to traffic and is operating on a stop-and-go system.”

Meanwhile, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said the city’s teams continue to work on electricity and water reconnections.

In areas supplied by Eskom, connections are taking longer.

On Tuesday, Hill-Lewis declared a “major incident” for the parts of the city that were severely flooded, such as Sir Lowry’s Pass Village and Rasta Kamp.

This would enable additional relief measures to be dispatched to these communities in the aftermath of the disaster.

At least eight people have died as a result of the storms.

-EWN

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