Car swept off road as flash floods hit Cape Town

“I had to get out very quickly.”

This is how a motorist described reacting as his car was sucked nose first into a sinkhole‚ as a pavement collapsed after heavy overnight rains that caused flooding in Cape Town.

The man told eNCA that he was waiting to pick up a friend in Delft when the car “just started disappearing to the one side. I tried to steady it but to no avail. (It was) too heavy for us‚” he said‚ as bewildered neighbours took in the scene.

Motorists in Cape Town were cautioned to travel with extra care on Thursday due to flooding across the metropole and beyond.

Some of the areas affected included sections of road between Table View and Milnerton‚ Edgemead Drive‚ Chapmans Peak and Delft.

Informal settlements were also drenched by heavy downpours accompanied by thunderstorms in the early hours of the morning.

Disaster Risk Management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said: “Flooding has been reported mostly in urban areas across the metropole‚ due to blocked drains and limited run-off capacity.

“Informal settlements in low-lying areas have been affected. At this stage no emergency sheltering has been activated.

“Roadways in Somerset West and parts of the N1 and N2 are flooded. Disaster management officers together with other city services are busy making assessments and stand-by crews have been activated.”

Powell said that several informal settlements had been affected by flooding around the city‚ including parts of Khayelitsha: “Assessments are under way. Humanitarian relief has been requested from Sassa.”

Roads were also flooded in Uitsig‚ Elsies River‚ Gugulethu and Khayelitsha. “Roads and Stormwater crews have been activated‚” she added.

In the north‚ the N1 was reopened at 4am after yesterday's protest action. Truckers heading towards the Drakensberg are however reporting problems on the N3.

Rob Beezy from @TrafficSA shared that flooding was affecting Koeberg Road‚ where various sections are under water between Table View and Milnerton.

Beezy recommended drivers avoid the route along Edgemead Drive‚ near Bosmansdam Road‚ and advised that the route was closed along Chapman's Peak Drive‚ due to adverse weather conditions.

Elsewhere‚ Bakwena Platinum advised early on Thursday that the N1 has been re-opened in both directions between the Carousel and Hammanskraal but SALTruckers @SALTruckers advised that the N3 Winterton area is closed due to protest action.