Roofs were blown off homes, power lines came down and trees were uprooted as gale force winds and heavy downpours wreaked havoc in Cape Town on Thursday night, the Disaster Risk Management Centre has confirmed.
A law enforcement officer also narrowly escaped serious injury when a tree fell on his patrol vehicle in Constantia Main Road. The officer has been admitted to hospital for slight head and neck wounds.
Disaster risk management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said extensive flooding occurred in Goodwood, Parow, Ravensmead, Belhar and Bellville South. Damage assessments are still being conducted.
"Approximately 150 residential properties have been affected. Roofs have been blown off in Sir Lowry's Pass Village and a few properties have been damaged," she said.
"Trees have been uprooted in the Parow, Goodwood, Constantia and Belhar areas. Power lines came down in the Goodwood, Parow Valley, Langa, Bergvliet, Durbanville and Maitland areas, and mudslides have been reported in the Hout Bay area."
The City of Cape Town's recreation and parks department was in the process of removing uprooted trees across the metropole to ensure roadways were cleared, Powell said, while the roads and stormwater department was unblocking drains.
Western Cape traffic chief Kenny Africa said strong winds also blew over a bus on the R300 before Stock Road on Friday morning.
The driver escaped uninjured and there were no passengers on board.
By 08:00 on Friday, the bus was still in the process of being recovered.
Africa said the Huguenot Tunnel remained closed by 08:00, following a power failure which was believed to be a result of the inclement weather.
The R321 had also been closed from Villiersdorp to Grabouw, following a "huge" sandstorm, Africa said.
A stop-and-go system was in place due to sand on the tar road.
Cape Town - #MetroRail + 1 HOUR DELAYS on Central, Northern and Southern line services
— Rob Beezy (@TrafficSA) June 1, 2018
• Chapman's Peak Drive closed
— Chris Hunsinger ???? (@CHunsingerMP) June 1, 2018
• N1 outbound Hugenote Tunnel
• R321 between Villiersdorp & Grabouw #WesternCape #CapeTown #Traffic #Roadsafety pic.twitter.com/zZZ8ftM9fM
Cape Town - 35th Avenue, #Flooding near the Lavis bridge - QUEUING TRAFFIC going north
— Rob Beezy (@TrafficSA) June 1, 2018
Cape Town - R300 Route: #BusCrash near Stock Road in Mitchells Plain pic.twitter.com/mGHsFnVIqt
— Rob Beezy (@TrafficSA) June 1, 2018
Cape Town - #AVOID Victoria Road, Mudslides between Llandudno and Bakoven - HEAVY TRAFFIC: use Constantia Nek to / from Hout Bay
— Rob Beezy (@TrafficSA) June 1, 2018
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