At least 11 people have died in severe storms that ravaged South Africa's Western Cape over the past two weeks. Flooding, power outages and road closures hit the Garden Route, Little Karoo, Cape Winelands and Cape Metropole regions hard.
The storms brought more than 300 millimetres of rain to parts of the Garden Route, with Plettenberg Bay and Knysna suffering the worst damage. A category eight storm last week caused widespread flooding, while gale-force winds exceeding 120 kilometres per hour struck George on Monday, toppling trees onto homes.
Knysna resident Nandipha Willie described losing everything. “It affected me a lot because it damaged everything that I have. Now I have to start from scratch,” she said. In Worcester, farming communities reported homes and belongings washed away.
Local officials moved quickly to restore services. Knysna Mayor Thando Matika said teams were working to repair electricity and roads. Garden Route District Municipality disaster head Gerhard Otto confirmed water tankers were deployed to areas still without supply after ten days. Gift of the Givers used helicopters and 4x4s to reach about 1 500 stranded people with food parcels.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis called the event one of the most intense storms in recent years, noting thousands of fallen trees and damaged power lines. On a positive note, major dams in the Garden Route and Little Karoo are now over 100 percent full.
