Storm causes havoc in Paarl
The so called “monster storm” that hit the Western Cape and Paarl late on Tuesday night continued to cause havoc in the Drakenstein throughout Wednesday morning.
Strong winds swept through the valley and damage to houses and infrastructure and power outages were reported.
According to a municipal emergency worker, reports of trees blowing over started streaming in from 05:00 on Wednesday.
“We have been working non-stop to clear the trees that have fallen on roads and which were causing disruptions to the traffic,” he said.
The authorities have placed emergency personnel on standby since Tuesday night as the storm crept closer to the Cape Peninsula.
In an unprecedented step the Western Cape Department of Education closed schools for Wednesday.
According to Jessica Shelver, spokesperson for the department, they had conferred with the South African Weather Service and concluded that the weather conditions were unsafe for learners.
“Our primary concern is the safety of learners and staff,” she said.
Metrorail spokesperson Riana Scott told News24 that rail commuters had been alerted about possible delays during the storm due to trees falling over and possible damage to electrical cables.
According to Eric Eksteen, general manager of the Huguenot tunnel, the tunnel had been closed for heavy vehicles only, on Wednesday morning.
“Our Eskom power is down because of the storm and therefore it is unsafe to let heavy vehicles use it,” he said.
According the Drakenstein municipality spokesperson, Lochner van Rensburg, various power outages occurred in the area since 20:00 Tuesday.
“Outages were mainly due to high winds causing damages to high and low tension overhead power infrastructure,” he said.
Van Rensburg said that homeless people continued to remain a major concern during the storm.
“Authorities are busy assessing the situation and the required relief and assistance will be rendered where required,” he said on Wednesday.
Central Paarl received about 35 mm of rain from Tuesday night to 12:00 on Wednesday.
The following instances were also reported to the Municipality.
- One large canopy of a shed at a private dwelling in Matthee street was blown off and landed on overhead telephone lines.
- The roof of a house in Desire Street, Smartie Town was partially lifted due to strong winds.
- Large volumes of leaves and tree branches accumulated in streets and on pavements, which can compromise the surrounding storm water systems.
- Trees were blown over in various streets – Cecilia, Hospital, Van der Lingen, Koning, as well as in Jan Van Riebeeck Drive and Bainskloof Pass.
The tree blown over in Koning Street, landed on and partially damaged a house.
The Municipality requested that the following numbers be dialled relating to rainwater and stormwater damage: Emergency number: 021 807 4715,
Fire Department: 021 807 4860 / 021 872 23233,
Jeremy Schoonraad: 082 497 9036 and Carel Lotz:083 705 9329.
Source: Paarl Post