Africa-Press – South-Africa. Western Cape police divers have discovered a body that had drowned in a river as mop-up operations continue following floods that battered the province.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi said the unknown body was retrieved on Saturday morning in the Buffelsjagsriver in the Overberg.
“We can confirm that the SAPS divers located the body this morning (Saturday) and brought it to safety.
“The unknown victim was declared deceased on the scene by the medical personnel,” said Swartbooi.
Since Tuesday, the province has been hammered by heavy rains and winds, causing flooding in many parts.
Many have since fled their homes and sought shelter in community halls after waters started filtering into their homes.
City of Cape Town departments are still busy with mopping-up operations across all affected areas.
On Friday, the Western Cape government’s Disaster Management asked the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to use a helicopter to deliver humanitarian aid to flood-hit Citrusdal.
Disaster Management spokesperson Colin Deiner previously told News24 that the town was under lockdown and roads were inaccessible due to infrastructural damage.
“All we have asked from the SANDF is the helicopters to go into the communities that were cut off to deliver food and aid on the west coast.
“Those towns are fairly isolated, and the roads have washed away. On Thursday, we used the province’s helicopter to fly out a child with injuries.
“Now we need to get in there to deliver food and medical supplies, and we can’t reach the areas by road,” Deiner said.
However, on Saturday morning, humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers spokesperson Ali Sablay said requests for helicopters were called off shortly after 07:00 due to strong winds.
“We were told it would be too dangerous for the helicopters to take off due to the very strong winds and rains coming down.
“We were then going to take the option of using boats to get to the residents who have been unable to access the roads due to the weather, ” Sablay added.
By late afternoon, Gift of the Givers managed to get two of their massive trucks on the road into the Citrusdal and Vredendal areas to aid flood victims.
Due to the severity of the damage on the roads, both eight and 12-ton trucks had to use a back road which was a longer route to get into the area.
“The people here have not had proper aid or food for days. They were in desperate need of relief, and so we needed to take every precaution in getting assistance to the people,” Sablay added.
Disaster Risk Management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said personnel were also continuing with assessments. Reports of flooding have been received from informal settlements in
“Non-government organisations (NGO’s) and South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) are providing humanitarian relief in terms of hot meals and blankets.
“Milling and sand (are) also provided to affected communities,” Powell added.
The Sea Views Flats in Hangberg, Hout Bay, have also been flooded.
A dam next to the Philippi railway station also overflowed, posing a risk of flooding to the Down Town informal settlement downstream.
The Roads and Stormwater department assisted in diverting the water, and mitigation measures were being put into place to reduce the flood risk at the Eskom sub-station in Somerset West.
Roads and Infrastructure Management services cleared all catch pits again to create capacity in the event of more rainfall.
Various trees have been uprooted across the city while weather-related power outages are being experienced in some areas.
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