Photo: Twitter screenshot / Yusuf Abramjee

Watch: Parts of Cape Town underwater after heavy rainfall [video]

A deluge of rain has submerged certain areas of Cape Town, as flooding wreaks havoc across several local regions. Here’s who has been affected.

by Tom Head

05-06-2019 08:04

in Video

Photo: Twitter screenshot / Yusuf Abramjee

The forecast rain and subsequent weather warnings for Cape Town really weren’t playing around on Tuesday, as flooding hit several well-populated areas of the city. Problems have been reported across the municipality, as torrential downpours submerged some neighbourhoods and streets.

It marks the biggest collective rainfall the city has faced all year, coming just two weeks after another significant deluge in the Western Cape – flood warnings were also issued then, but the severity of this storm has been cranked up a notch. Manenberg was left in a particularly bad state during the evening:

Watch: Cape Town flooding on Tuesday 4 June

We are in Manenberg were several houses have been affected by floods. #CTFloods #NewzroomAfrika pic.twitter.com/oB6hLB5176
— Athi Mtongana (@Artii_M) June 4, 2019

Flooding in Mannenburg Cape Town. @CityofCT @alanwinde pic.twitter.com/V1ixxmjBGd
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) June 4, 2019

Cape Town traffic disrupted by flooding

Of course, the horrendous weather ended up causing some severe traffic delays in Cape Town, as the worst of the precipitation struck during rush hour. The adverse conditions proved to be too much for some drivers, with major commuter routes through Woodstock, Salt River and on the N1 came to a complete standstill on Tuesday.

The chaos seems to have cleared on Wednesday morning, with no major issues to report. However, the Metrorail Central Line from Khayelitsha to Langa has been suspended, and travellers are asked to find an alternative route. Here’s how bad the situation on the roads was on Tuesday evening:

#crash Lansdowne Rd. Phillipi, Cape Town. Taxi lost control in adverse weather conditions in Western Cape #CapeWinter pic.twitter.com/Yp2p4tzmN7
— BOSBEER /CAPE TOWN (@BOSBEER2006) June 4, 2019

Rainfall in the Mother City

Despite many Capetonians welcoming the rain, the excessive quantities have proved ultimately damaging in low-lying areas of the municipality. As well as Manenberg, Khayelitsha and Gugulethu have also had to deal with gushing waters forcing their way into homes, flooding several properties in the process.

The SA Weather Service is expected to confirm just how much rain fell during this barrage later on Wednesday. Revised predictions suggested that some areas could be on for more than 50mm. Judging by how hard it bucketed down, we’d imagine they’re pretty much in the ballpark.