The City of Cape Town urged residents in low lying areas on Tuesday to put measures in place to reduce the risk of flooding. This followed a weather warning from the city’s disaster risk management centre.

“With flooding expected in many regions of the Western Cape, including in the Cape metropole, the city’s human settlements directorate urges residents who reside in low-lying, flood-prone areas to help to reduce the flooding risk by, amongst others, raising the floor level of their homes so that it is higher than the natural ground level,” the city said in a statement.

“In instances where localised flooding occurs, communities in informal settlements can contact the city’s call centre on 0860 103 089 to request sand to raise the floor levels of their dwellings to keep water out. If the roof of a structure is leaking, residents can apply for flood kits from the city’s informal settlements management team.”

The city appealed to residents to help by cleaning out drainage systems on their properties, moving to higher ground, digging trenches around their homes to divert water away, reporting blocked drains, intakes and illegal dumping, and waterproofing roofs, clearing gutters and removing dead tree branches.

“While the city has done all that it can to mitigate the impact of the winter season, flooding and mudslides may still occur due to variable climatic conditions,” it said.

“Due to the very nature of flooding, this cannot be completely prevented as rainfall often exceeds the design capacity of the stormwater system.” News24