Knysna was reeling under a quadruple whammy of disaster on Friday: on top of devastating fires‚ it has limited water‚ electricity and telecommunications.
“It was already one of the Western Cape towns most impacted by the current province-wide water shortages — and supply has now been severely impacted by fire damage‚ and related power failures‚” said local government and environment MEC Anton Bredell.
More than 500 houses were burnt and 7000 people evacuated following ravaging fires in Knysna this week.
This according to the SANParks spokesperson Nandi Mgwadlamba, who added that rain along the Garden Route was not enough to bring the necessary relief to the towns affected by the fire.
“Knysna is still a community in tears this morning after the devastation caused by the fires two nights ago.
Our prayers and thoughts go out to colleagues, stakeholders and families whose houses were burnt down,” she said.
“Sounds of the Oryx flying over the Knysna estuary, part of the Garden Route National Park were the first sounds heard this morning. The winds have died down and choppers can now fly to extinguish left-over flames,” Mgwadlamba added.
