HEAVY rain, snowfall and damaging winds have caused havoc in some parts of Cape Town with many residents being displaced from their homes.
The worst affected areas are Khayelitsha, Lwadle in Strand, Nomzamo, Gugulethu, Masiphumelele, Macassar, Sir Lowry's Pass, Mfuleni, Tafelisig and Vygieskraal.
Lynelle Naidoo, who is formerly from Havenside in Chatsworth, now lives in Tableview with her husband, Devlin, and children Kiara and Hayley.
Naidoo said they noticed the change in the weather a few days ago.
“It is actually very scary. We had heavy rain, snowfall and winds all in one day. We have a free-standing home and it felt like the roof, doors and windows were all going to come off.”
She said it was also "bitterly cold".
“We are lucky because we did not have any major damage but there are some areas like the informal settlement that have been damaged, trees have been uprooted and some roads were flooded.
“I am staying at home as I homeschool Hayley and Kiara is studying part-time and attends classes online."
In a statement, Carl Pophaim, the city’s mayoral committee member for human settlements, said the city's disaster risk management and front line service teams were on the ground to assist vulnerable residents in the informal settlements.
“Our teams remain on the ground and the full assessments of the affected households in need are ongoing. Our initial assessments indicate that approximately 5 000 residents are affected at this stage. However, the assessments continue."
He said they have issued about 4 500 flood kits and assessments of the total requests received continued.
“Our teams have done some relocations. However this is challenging. We have provided the National Human Settlements Department with all the verified data of those affected thus far for their urgent assistance and we call on the department for their swift and urgent action in this regard. It is time to devolve emergency housing grants to municipalities that work.”