A weather warning has been issued for the coming weekend by the South African Weather Service (Saws) and the City of Cape Town urges weekday burials and expedited burials.
This, after torrential rains and gale-force winds have recently battered the Western Cape.
“The warning for disruptive rainfall this weekend coincides with one of the busiest days of the week for City cemeteries. With the soil already saturated, it will not take a lot of rain for flooding to occur,” the City said.
During the last severe weather spell, the City’s Recreation and Parks Department facilitated 117 burials on the Saturday.
The City has continuously advocated for more weekday burials, but, Saturdays remain the most popular days for burials.
Mayoral committee member for community services and health, Councillor Patricia van Der Ross said adverse weather conditions could affect grave depths.
“Our cemeteries are incredibly busy on weekends, and this coming weekend will be no different. Our teams are on hand to ensure that operations proceed as smoothly as possible under the circumstances, but if the forecast holds, there will likely be an impact. Cape Town has experienced a lot of rainfall this month, so the soil remains very saturated.
“As we’ve indicated before, this could affect grave depths or reopening of existing graves for second burials, resulting in delays or even forcing the use of an alternate grave. I also want to call on funeral-goers to please try and expedite burials, so that we can manage traffic in and out of the cemeteries but also limit people’s exposure to conditions underfoot,” Van Der Ross said.
The City has advised members of the public to be aware of the following when visit cemeteries during inclement weather:
– Roads, pathways, and parking lots could be flooded, or slippery, so be cautious.
– Wear suitable weatherproof clothing and waterproof non-slip sensible shoes to avoid slipping and puddles.
– Arrive timeously at the burial and do not exceed the 30-minute timeslot to alleviate parking congestion.
– Consider a smaller number of people attending burials, particularly during episodes of inclement weather.
– Exercise caution when carrying coffins and avoid standing too close to open graves.
– Undertakers are urged to exercise caution when using gazebos in windy conditions.
IOL