Helderberg hammered by first hectic storm of the season
After an initial Level 6 weather warning was issued by the South African Weather Service earlier in the week, this warning was swiftly escalated to an Orange Level 9 Storm Warning predicting heavy rains and very strong winds from Saturday April 6 at noon until Monday April 9, for parts of the City of Cape Town, Cape Winelands, and the Overberg.
City of Cape Town Disaster Risk Management and Disaster Risk teams from local municipalities were immediately on high alert and issued warnings for residents in these areas to refrain from leaving their homes and issued emergency contact numbers to report storm and weather-related emergencies.
In the Helderberg, Stellenbosch and Drakenstein regions, the devastation caused by strong winds and heavy rains was already experienced on Saturday night into the early hours of the morning.
On Sunday morning, April 7. the Stellenbosch Municipality mayor Gesie van Deventer and municipal manager, Geraldine Mettler, released a statement detailing storm-related damages thus far: “Dear Residents, the storm damage across the municipality is significant. We’re dealing with numerous fires, fallen trees, electricity outages, and roofs blown off.
“Please report any service delivery issues to control room so we can address them. While we can’t attend to everything simultaneously, rest assured, we’ll do our best. Many outages are related to Eskom services, and we’ll notify them accordingly. Our prayers are with everyone’s safety.”
In Stellenbosch, the firefighting teams from Cape Winelands District Municipality’s fire services battled a fire along the Papegaaiberg, which started Saturday night and raged until the early hours on Sunday morning.
Sunday morning, at 6.30am, the Cape Winelands municipality reported this fire to be contained. “We are grateful for the cooler weather that aided operations. Fresh teams will be deployed this morning for mopping up and monitoring until the area is deemed completely safe,” they stated.
Other fires reported were according to municipal reports, reported at Simonsberg, Pniel and in Jamestown to which firefighting crews were dispatched to.
In Helderberg, fires broke out at the Blaauwklippen wine estate and caused the destruction of the historic manor house and Jonkershuis on the estate, which was devastatingly burnt down in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Reported by Peet de Wet, CEO of De Zalze HOA, the fire started on the Malan’s Trust property employee housing complex, next to the estate and strong winds caused the fire to spread to the manor house and Jonkershuis just before 2am and burnt down the properties.
The Cape Winelands District Municipality Fire Services confirmed that they supported Stellenbosch Municipality with three firefighting vehicles and crew throughout the night as they combated the Blaauwklippen fire. “Unfortunately, the fire remains out of control, exacerbated by gusting winds,” they stated on Sunday at noon.
The municipality also on Sunday confirmed the continuous burning of the fires on Simonsberg and in Pniel, confirming that strong winds are spreading the fire to the Boschendal area. They said five fire-fighting vehicles have been fighting the blaze.
There were a few incidents of storm-related damage to properties reported. At Somerset Mall the tenants were asked by management to evacuate in a statement issued at 10.30am on Sunday. The management team cited risks with severe high winds and weather as reasons to close the centre.
They said they will reopen as soon as it’s safe to do so. “The safety of our shoppers and staff is our first priority, and with the level 9 weather warning issued by the South African Weather Services, we believe this is the best decision for all,” management said.
In a weather update on Sunday morning by Disaster Risk Management, spokesperson Charlotte Powell confirmed the Somerset Mall roof sheeting had blown off. Ms Powell said a building inspector is on the scene and their teams have been activated to the scene.
Additionally, she added their teams have been dispatched to respond to roofs blown off at Morkels Cottage, the Donkerbos informal settlement in Somerset West and roofs blown off in Somerset West, Macassar and emergency medical services are attending to injuries of residents at Morkels Cottage.
There were reports of fallen trees caused by the strong winds. Heavy gale-force winds caused trees to be uprooted across various areas.
On Saturday night already Facebook users reported a fallen tree causing obstruction on the R44 and then on Sunday morning residents of Somerset West woke up to various uprooted trees in the streets of Somerset West, particularly along the Helderberg College Road, Strand and in Stellenbosch where various oak trees were uprooted along Dorp Street.
The City of Cape Town alerted road users to other incidents where trees had been uprooted and their teams were attending to on Sunday morning. These included Kramat Road and Old Main Road in Croyden, Macassar, Oak Road and Andries Pretorius Street, Somerset West and the City’s traffic officers were deployed to Main and Ranken roads in Strand, where strong winds had blown off roof sheeting from a business premises.
Ms Powell confirmed the Recreation and Parks Department of the City were clearing uprooted trees in Somerset West and Macassar.
Bolander could find no reports yet of flooding in low-lying areas, as no heavy rainfall has been reported, but will provide updates.
There were reports of power outages in areas in Sir Lowry’s Pass Village and some of the Somerset West areas, such as Martinville, Helderrand, Bridgebank, Heritage Park, Parel Vallei, Nature’s Valley, Land en Zeezicht, Westridge, Schaapenberg, Bizweni and other areas.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde gave reports on roads closed, with Keerweder, Elsenburg and Helshoogte roads closed due to trees falling.
As of Sunday morning, social media users reported closures of the R44, Clarence Drive and the closure of Sir Lowry’s Pass, but Bolander could not yet find any official confirmation of this and will confirm this once received.
The Stellenbosch Wine Routes on Sunday morning posted a warning of closures of local estates Blaauwklippen, Delheim and Hartenberg and also Muratie, Zorgvliet, Kleine Zalze, Rust en Vrede, Stellenbosch Reserve and Longridge.
In other Winelands areas, the Drakenstein municipality reported fires in Wellington and Paarl, where teams were deployed to attend to. Reports of fallen trees, power outages and other incidents such as collapsed roofs and outages of traffic lights were reported in areas under this municipality.
The Drakenstein municipality announced that heavy winds resulted in the closure of the Huguenot Tunnel on Sunday morning in both directions.
• Report storm-related emergencies to the Stellenbosch municipality control room at 021 808 8999 or on WhatsApp on 079 622 4722. The City of Cape Town emergency numbers are 107 from a landline or 021 480 7700 from a cellphone and the Drakenstein municipality emergency centre can be contacted on 080 131 3553.
This is a developing story and Bolander will provide updates on the storm-affected areas and incidents with information as received from Disaster Risk Management centres.
