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Wednesday, April 24, 2024

This is what it's like to live in a Western Cape shanty town after two days of floods

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This is what it's like to live in a Western Cape shanty town after two days of floods
This is what it's like to live in a Western Cape shanty town after two days of floods

Residents of a Cape Town shanty settlement have called on the South African president for help as continuous rain flooded their shacks and makes already difficult living conditions intolerable.

Residents of a Cape Town shanty settlement have called on the South African president for help as continuous rain flooded their shacks and makes already difficult living conditions intolerable.

Video filmed on Wednesday (June 30) shows locals in the Erhembeni informal settlement in Khayelitsha, Cape Town struggling in floods.

Residents have experienced two consecutive days of storms, which has flooded many homes and caused widespread damage as heavy winds and rains battered the city.

"You are the main man," said one resident appealing directly to Ramaphosa to visit while standing in his home in ankle-deep water.

"Due to COVID-19, I don’t know the sanitation, I don’t know water, I don’t know how to wash hands.

One year six months, since COVID-19 start, we are here, until today." According to weather forecasts the storms are set to last until the weekend.

@SAWeatherServic tweeted on Wednesday: "Orange level 6 warning for RAIN resulting in flooding is expected over City of Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Theewaterskloof (W.Cape) tonight until tomorrow morning (30 June-01 July 2021)." Around 6,300 people have been affected by localised flooding in formal and informal settlements, news24 reported.

The City of Cape Town and the Western Cape province is not governed by President Cyril Ramaphosa's ruling African National Congress but is instead under the control of the Democratic Alliance.

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