Almost 1,000 homes in informal settlements in Cape Town, South Africa, have been destroyed by gale-force winds, displacing around 4,000 people, authorities and an aid organisation reported.
The city is bracing for a week of damaging storms as South African weather authorities predict multiple cold fronts until at least Friday, bringing torrential rain, strong winds, and flooding.
Cape Town’s disaster coordination team has been on high alert since the first front arrived last Thursday. The worst-hit areas are suggested to be the poor, informal settlements on the outskirts of South Africa’s second-biggest city. Thousands of people have been displaced in Khayelitsha township after strong winds destroyed homes and other structures.
The local aid organisation, Gift of the Givers, provided 10,000 meals and 3,000 blankets to displaced people in Khayelitsha over the weekend. Other areas have been flooded, and the severe weather has caused power outages in more than 30 suburbs, the City of Cape Town reported. City officials are also monitoring dam levels to prevent overflow and are considering a controlled release of some water with more heavy rain expected this week.
Cape Town frequently experiences cold fronts from the Atlantic Ocean during its winter months in the middle of the year. These weather conditions are particularly damaging for impoverished informal settlements, exacerbating the challenges faced by the city’s most vulnerable residents.
Melissa Enoch
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