Lusanda Bill
02 June 2015
The City of Cape Town has finalised its winter readiness plan for this year. The programme is to try and mitigate against the risks posed by the extreme weather experienced during winter.
02 June 2015
The City of Cape Town has finalised its winter readiness plan for this year. The programme is to try and mitigate against the risks posed by the extreme weather experienced during winter.
Mayoral Committee Member for
Safety and Security JP Smith said several departments have been tasked with
specific roles in terms of the winter programme.
Smith said the Social
Development officials have put in place a winter readiness programme that will
assist night shelters with additional accommodation and resources, to accommodate
homeless people. The transport of Cape Town has a budget of R85 million which
they have spent on 700 temporary jobs, to clean our stormwater system in order
to minimise system blockages.
Meanwhile flooding in the Cape
especially in informal settlements is a huge concern for the city. The South African Weather
Service has made predication of below average temperatures up to the end of
July as a result of the higher than normal rainfall expected.
Smith said Disaster Management
will be supporting residents who do experience flooding during this time. Last
year we gave assistance to about 235 000 residents with 600 000 meals
and blankets.
“In many areas people have
built structures in areas that are not suitable for human habitation. These are
low-lying areas prone to flooding where it will annually flood. So there is a comparatively
little from an engineering perspective that you can do to prevent the flooding but
to support the communities affected” Smith added.
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