Homes of Over 5,000 People Still Flooded in Khayelitsha

Liphapang Kortjass is one of thousands of Island informal settlement residents whose homes remain under water after heavy rains on Monday and Tuesday.

• Thousands of people in Island informal settlement in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, have been forced to seek shelter with relatives and neighbours due to flooding.
• Community leaders say they have opened their homes to flood victims, while they try to arrange emergency housing for them.
• The City’s disaster risk management says 83,184 people have been impacted in the metro by floods.

The homes of over 5,000 people in Island informal settlement in Khayelitsha, near Baden Powell Drive, Cape Town, remain flooded after heavy rains. Residents say blankets, furniture, clothing, food and important documents have been damaged. Many families have had to seek shelter with relatives and neighbours.

Resident Zukiswa Mbeka said, “Our food is wet, everything we own is wet.”

Mandisi Mgagi, a resident for many years, said many households had to rely on illegal connections for electricity and these pose a danger during bad weather.

“It is no secret that we ‘steal’ electricity because we do not have formal electricity in this informal settlement,” he said.

Mgagi said residents believe road milling material would help reduce flooding. “We can’t go to work. Our clothes are dirty and wet,” he said.

Matsedezo Sheron Phika said her home is flooded despite attempts to raise the structure and reinforce it with cement. “We can’t cook. All I am waiting for is the weather to clear up so I can dry my child’s clothes,” she said.

“I had just recovered from tuberculosis,” she said.

Phika said many residents do not own gumboots and have to walk through the water in sandals.

Community leaders said they have been trying to assist affected families while seeking outside help and donations.

Banele Ntabeni, a community committee member, said displaced residents had sought refuge in his home. “I slept on a bench because I gave up my house for affected community members,” he said.

He said community leaders are calling churches and community halls to find temporarily accommodation for the flood victims.

Nomfundo Joka, secretary of phase 2 in the settlement, said community leaders contacted Disaster Risk Management and received forms for affected residents to complete.

Ward 96 councillor Lucky Mbiza said the City had warned residents about living in a wetland that was prone to flooding and unsuitable for human settlement.

“I am in communication with the City and have taken officials to see the conditions residents are living in, as well as what support can be provided,” Mbiza said.

“The City said it will provide milling to raise or elevate their houses and other materials, but there is a process … I cannot say by when this will be done,” he said.

In a statement, the disaster risk management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said humanitarian relief efforts are ongoing.

“The latest totals … indicate that 83,184 people living in 21,546 dwellings have been impacted. Several of our NGO partners have stepped forward to provide hot meals and blankets, including Ashraful Aid, Gift of the Givers, Islamic Relief and Mustadafin.”

She said the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the Department of Social Development have also stepped in to help.

The City has set up drop off points for donations at several fire stations for items such as non-perishable foodstuff, personal hygiene items, nappies and baby formula, as well as blankets and bedding.

“While the worst of the adverse conditions are behind us, the recovery efforts will continue for several days or more. We ask communities to please pay special attention to vulnerable households in their areas and to assist where possible, or help them access help through the appropriate channels,” she said.

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