The Overberg, Cape Winelands and Garden Route were worst-affected during this weekend’s storm. Photo: Catherine Swanson
WATCH: Scenes of disaster in Franschhoek in wake of Cape storm
Franschhoek, often regarded as South Africa’s food and wine capital, saw some of the worst damage from this weekend’s Cape storm.
The Overberg, Cape Winelands and Garden Route were worst-affected during this weekend’s storm. Photo: Catherine Swanson
The small Western Cape town of Franschhoek, just 80km from Cape Town, saw a record 299mm of rainfall during a storm that battered the Cape over the Heritage Day weekend.
South African Weather Service (SAWS) spokesperson Robin-Lee Batties said it was the highest figure recorded on Sunday.
Cape Town resident Catherine Swanson captured some of the devastation while being temporarily stranded after widespread flooding washed away roads and bridges.
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“It was meant to be a romantic weekend away in Franschhoek!” said Swanson.
“It’s unreal to see the amount of water and the sheer force of it. The whole town is wrecked.
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“We ended up getting stuck but made it out today [Tuesday] – there is one road open.”
SAWS issued a Level 9 warning on Sunday for disruptive rain across Cape Town, parts of the Overberg and the Cape Winelands, and warned that widespread flooding, severe thunderstorms, gale-force winds and rough seas could be expected.
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The Overberg, Cape Winelands and Garden Route were the worst-affected areas while parts of Cape Town grappled with floods, evacuations, road closures and power outages.
Numerous reports of ongoing flooding incidents were received from areas throughout the Cape Town metropole. Areas severely affected by floods include Taiwan IFS Site C Khayelitsha, Morkel Cottages IFS Strand, Ekuphumleni IFS Du Noon, DM Section, France IFS, QQ Section, Green Point, Qandu Qandu IFS, SST IFS and Khayelitsha.
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The storm caused the Spaanschemat River to overflow onto the M42, opposite Tokai Forest, resulting in several evacuations.
Meanwhile, a powerful crosswind caused a Golden Arrow bus to overturn on Jakes Gerwel Drive on Monday morning.
