The weekend of relentless rain has turned parts of Cape Town into flood zones, with informal settlements among the hardest hit.
In Zwezwe, Dunoon, families waded through knee-deep water, slept on makeshift platforms and feared for their lives as floodwaters invaded their homes.
Sajini Lubisi, 54, had the shock of his life when he returned to his shack in Zwezwe, an informal settlement outside Cape Town, to find his children perched on top of a soaked bed amid floodwater.
“I found them shaking and scared,” he said. “The water was knee-deep. I kept thinking my children, aged five, seven and nine, could have been washed away.”
Over the past three days, the City of Cape Town has recorded heavy storms, with persistent rainfall triggering widespread flooding across the metro.
Lubisi said the water began seeping into his shack on Friday. “As I was walking towards my shack, I saw the bottom part covered in water. I didn’t think much of it because other shacks looked the same. But nothing could have prepared me for what I found inside,” he said.
He donned gumboots as the water rose to his knees and tried to dig a furrow to drain it. “It didn’t help,” he said.
For three nights, the family has been forced to improvise. “We put plastic on top of the bed so the children can sleep. Luckily, we had dry blankets on top of the wardrobe. My wife and I sleep sitting on beer crates, praying it doesn’t get worse,” he said.
The situation has also left them without food. “The rainwater ruined everything. We’ve been surviving on bread and water. I don’t know what will happen in the coming days.”
Their two older children have missed school because their uniforms are soaked.
Zwezwe’s shacks are built along Malibongwe Drive near the swollen banks of the Diep River — a location residents say leaves them vulnerable every time it rains.
It happened so fast. There was water everywhere. My furniture was floating
— Awhile Mambula, resident
Across the settlement, similar stories are unfolding.
Awhile Mambula, 32, from nearby Sporweni, has been forced to seek shelter with relatives after her shack flooded on Sunday morning.
“I was getting ready for work when the water started coming in,” she said. “I prayed I wouldn’t go through what happened in 2019.”
Within minutes, her belongings were submerged. “It happened so fast. There was water everywhere. My furniture was floating. I couldn’t go to work; I had to ask my child’s grandmother for a place to sleep.”
Mambula said she had only recently rebuilt her shack after losing everything in previous floods.
Residents say flooding has become a constant threat. “When it rains, we get worried. There are more and more shacks, and I don’t think the area can handle this,” said a community member who identified himself as Mike. “On Friday, the streets were flooded and cars couldn’t pass.”
Meanwhile, Disaster Risk Management teams have been assessing damage in areas including Mkhonto Square informal settlement in Nyanga and Brown’s Farm.
The city confirmed localised flooding across multiple parts of Cape Town, with incidents routed through its Transport Management Centre for response by roads and stormwater teams.
Several roads in Parkwood have also been affected.
City spokesperson Sonica Lategan said wet weather conditions are expected to persist into the early hours of Tuesday, with ongoing monitoring and deployment of services where needed.
For families like the Lubisis, however, the immediate concern is survival.
“I couldn’t sleep,” he said. “I was afraid the shack would be washed away with my family inside.”
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