Residents of Athry Walk and Phillans Walk in Hanover Park are slowly repairing their homes after gale-force winds ripped through the area, but they still need help.
On Friday August 25, the roofs of several houses were blown off – some of it with extensive damage – affecting 20 formal houses and 10 backyard dwellings. About 130 people were affected.
The City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management team went to the area to assess the damages and assist the residents, but only two of the houses are City-owned. The rest are privately-owned homes, therefore the City cannot help those families with the repairs needed.
On Monday August 28, some residents said they were still traumatised by this. Many also said they cannot afford to fix their homes.
Pensioner Sophia Andrews is among those who cannot afford to fix her property.
“This whole thing was just disastrous. I don’t have the money to fix my place. Part of my roof and some windows were damaged, as well as my boundary wall. It was such a big shock,” Ms Andrews said.
Diane Theunissen, who is also a pensioner, said she and her family too, are still traumatised.
“I am too scared to sleep in my room upstairs. Our roof lifted from the structure and I can actually see right through it. It is away from the wall. I am sleeping downstairs now. My mattress is in the lounge. We fear for the weather changes. I don’t have money to fix our roof. All we can do is wait and pray that sponsors can help us,” she said.
Community worker Patricia Morris said shortly after the incident, she sent out messages on WhatsApp appealing for help.
“I am very grateful to all those who came out to help. Donations of food, blankets, building materials and mattresses, among others, were given. More is still needed, however. We pray that God sends us more angels to assist. The affected families are slowly trying to rebuild their homes. We are also still trying to get help to assess whether it is safe to live in the houses, as we don’t know how bad the structural damage is. However, the families had no alternative but to sleep in their homes since this happened. This was a very traumatic event and we are also trying to arrange counselling for the affected families,” Ms Morris said.
Ward 47 councillor, Antonio van der Rheede, said the City of Cape Town cannot use public funds to repair privately-owned houses.
“The people are trying to repair their homes. I met with the affected residents on Sunday, to explain this to them, but unfortunately many of them don’t want to accept this. I know the mayor (Geordin Hill-Lewis) made an appeal for assistance,” Mr Van Der Rheede said.
Disaster response organisation, Gift of the Givers, has been assisting the families since Friday. The organisation’s spokesperson, Ali Sablay, said they received hundreds of calls on Friday morning from residents from Hanover Park.
“We know now that the gale-force wind was a landspout, and not a mini-tornado, but it is destructive as well.
“When our teams got on the ground,we provided all the affected families with black sheeting to prevent rain from coming into their homes to prevent further damage. Unfortunately, this community do not have insurance, so they urgently needed help. Those who live in backyard dwellings even more so. We provided blankets, food, and mattresses, and we have put out an appeal for building materials. If any donations of building materials come, we will forward those to the affected residents,” Mr Sablay said.
If you are able to make a donation, call the Disaster Operations Centre on 021 597 6000.
• The South African Weather Service (SAWS) confirmed that an EF-0 landspout occurred over Hanover Park on August 25 just after 7am.
In a media release, the weather service said a well-developed cold front made landfall over the south-western parts of the Western Cape on Friday morning – the third cold front of a series of cold fronts that affected the province the past weekend, which was dominated by cold, windy, and wet weather conditions.
SAWS conducted an analysis of the weather conditions on the day of the event and considering all available information, it was determined that the wind phenomenon that hit Hanover Park was a landspout.
Like a tornado, a landspout also rotates, is usually fast-moving and can be damaging. However, landspouts are much weaker and smaller in scale and form from the ground up, rather than from a cloud to the ground.
After evaluating the meteorological conditions and the damage that was caused by the Hanover Park landspout, it was determined that it was an EF-0 landspout. This is particularly related to the blown-off roof tiles. The EF-rating refers to the strength (estimated wind speed) of the wind phenomenon by considering the damage severity to structures and trees.
The SAWS said any additional photos or videos of this event from the public will be helpful and vital for future research. This information can be shared with the Cape Town Weather Office via email factfc@weathersa.co.za or via WhatsApp on 084 279 1166.