Blankets and food needed in Cape Town’s flooded informal settlements

On Thursday, residents, some who were served a formal notice to vacate by the City of Cape Town last month, moved a home situated on the Diep River floodplain near Parklands North to higher ground.

Learners living in Vygieskraal informal settlement in Belgravia, Cape Town, missed examinations on Wednesday because of widespread flooding this week. School clothes and books were sopping wet, some no longer usable.

The widespread flooding has affected informal settlements including Philippi, Strand, Gugulethu, Mfuleni, Masiphumelele, and Khayelitsha.

In some homes, groceries for the month acquire been destroyed. People are also missing work.

In Kraaifontein, some people had to abandon their homes and creep in with neighbours last week already when the heavy rains began. People worry their belongings will be stolen while left unguarded.

Families need dry clothes, blankets and warm food.

People hang mattresses up in Vygieskraal informal settlement in Belgravia, Cape Town, to support them out of reach of the flood waters, but they cannot avoid the rain.

On Wednesday, GroundUp met Onikayo, a grade 9 learner, scooping buckets of water out of the family home in Vygieskraal which she shares with her two sisters and her mother.

“When I woke in the morning the house was flooded, so I couldn’t depart to school and I am writing exams. Exams are finishing tomorrow and I am not sure if I will be given a chance to write. My school shoes and uniform are wet,” she said.

“I haven’t slept for a few nights now because my bed and children’s bunk bed and blankets are wet as a result of floods and continuous rain,” said Nocawe Mqulo.

Nocawe Mqulo has hardly slept the past few nights. Her home in Vygieskraal is flooded. Her paraffin stove won’t light so she is using gas.

“I missed work today so that I can deal with the situation. I will maintain to stay here with my four children. I don’t acquire a choice … So far we didn’t receive any encourage, our groceries got messed with floods. I maintain lived here for 16 years and experienced floods but this time they are too heavy.”

Community leader Nosiphiwe Kori said the community needs encourage with blankets and “warm food like soup”.

“No encourage has been received so far. We normally acquire aid from the surrounding churches but they haven’t responded yet … We acquire alerted the City of Cape Town,” said Kori.

Community leader Linda Phito, in Bloekombos, said, “It broke my heart to see that residents now catch to Facebook to plead with others to give them a space to sleep.”

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