Ongoing storms keep Cape Winelands and Overberg schools closed on Friday

Heavy rainfall and flooding in the Cape Winelands and Overberg districts have damaged school properties and transport routes.

As a result, the Western Cape Department of Education announced its decision to keep schools closed in the districts on Friday.

“We do not take the decision to close schools lightly and have the best interests of our learners and teachers at heart when making these decisions,” said Education MEC David Maynier on Thursday.

Cape Winelands and Overberg district schools remain closed

Maynier said the decision to keep the Cape Winelands and Overberg district schools is based on the interests of learner and teacher safety, particularly with regard to travelling to and from schools.

“We have asked that schools in the Overberg and Cape Winelands Education Districts inform their parents and caregivers of the continued closure tomorrow (Friday). These schools will reopen on Monday, 15 July 2024, unless communicated otherwise,” he said.

ALSO READ: Cape Storm: WC braces for another day of heavy rain and flooding

Across the province, 217 schools reported some damage to school infrastructure or disruption, and heavy rains and strong winds on Wednesday evening contributed to this figure.

The department said 86 cases are regarded as serious, and the department’s infrastructure teams are addressing these cases as fast as possible.

All other districts reopen

According to Maynier, the decision was made following a meeting with provincial disaster risk management.

All schools in the other education districts will reopen on Friday.

“This means that schools in the Cape Town metro districts, the West Coast Education District, and the Eden and Central Karoo Education District will be open tomorrow, unless approval has been granted by the Head of Department for specific individual schools to remain closed,” Maynier said.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Western Cape may close up to 53 schools due to severe weather, 5 000 displaced

The series of cold fronts lashed parts of the province this week, and the weather system is expected to continue.

Weather systems update

 The Western Cape’s Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC) said the South African Weather Service (SAWS) provided an update on the weather system during a meeting on Thursday and said an orange level 8 warning for disruptive rain, strong winds, and mudslides was issued ahead of the latest cold front that made landfall overnight. This warning remains on track for the Cape Town Metropole, Drakenstein, and Stellenbosch areas.

A yellow level 4 warning for damaging winds is in place for Thursday and Friday between Lambert’s Bay and Mossel Bay, as well as over the southern parts of Namakwa (in the Northern Cape), the Cape Town Metro, Cape Winelands, Central Karoo, Overberg, and western areas of the Garden Route; a yellow level 4 warning has been issued for damaging waves from Alexander Bay to Plettenberg Bay for the next two days; and an orange level 6 warning has been issued for strong waves between Table Bay and Struisbaai for the same period.

Humanitarian efforts

The PDMC said humanitarian efforts are continuing across all affected areas. In Cape Town, 44,000 males have been provided for people in need with the help of NGOs since Monday.

“Members of the public are urged to continue donating non-perishable food items, blankets, toiletries, and other essentials.”

Cape Town residents have been the hardest hit, with 6,928 structures across the city affected, impacting over 8,000 people. Across the province, around 14,000 structures have sustained damage, affecting about 15,000 people.

ALSO READ: Weather havoc closes five Western Cape schools

Calls for decentralisation of the emergency housing fund

Tertuis Simmers, the MEC for Infrastructure, has urged Mmamoloko Kubayi, the minister of Human Settlements, to examine the existing funding arrangements and work with provincial and local authorities to restore a more effective system for allocating funds for emergency housing.

“The decentralisation of emergency funding is not merely a bureaucratic step; it is a necessary reform that will enable us to respond to disasters with the urgency and precision our communities deserve,” Simmers said.

The MEC said the recent weather has severely impacted Western Cape communities and highlighted the urgent need for a more efficient and responsive emergency funding system.