By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Western Cape Education Department has announced its decision to extend the closure of schools in the Cape Winelands and Overberg districts to Friday.
This follows a meeting with Provincial Disaster Risk Management (PDRM), were the decision was made to continue the closure of schools in the Cape Winelands and Overberg districts.
However, all schools in the other education districts are to re-open tomorrow.
This means that schools in the Cape Town, the West Coast, and the Eden and Central Karoo Education Districts will be open tomorrow unless approval has been granted by the Head of Department.
“This decision is based on the interests of learner and teacher safety in the Overberg and Cape Winelands Education Districts, particularly with regard to travelling to and from schools,” said Western Cape MEC for Education, David Maynier.
“Extensive rainfall has caused widespread damage to roads and flooding, affecting school transport routes. A number of schools have also reported flood damage to their premises.
“We have asked that schools in the Overberg and Cape Winelands Education Districts to inform their parents and caregivers of the continued closure tomorrow. These schools will reopen on Monday, 15 July 2024, unless communicated otherwise.”
Maynier said 17 schools across the province had reported disruption or damage to school infrastructure.
“Last night’s heavy rains and strong winds unfortunately contributed towards this figure. Eighty-six cases are regarded as serious and require our attention. Our infrastructure teams are addressing these cases as fast as possible. I am grateful for their continued commitment in these adverse conditions,” Maynier said.
“I am also very appreciative of the support received from school principals and their management teams in implementing the decision to close schools in some of our districts.”
He took the time to thank all parents and caregivers for their support.
“We do not decide to close schools lightly and have the best interests of our learners and teachers at heart when making these decisions,” Maynier added.
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued a level 8 warning for disruptive rain.
The Western Cape Government (WCG) said the warning remains in place for heavy rain, flooding, and mudslides, particularly in the Cape Town metro, Drakenstein and Stellenbosch regions.
Parents can use the ‘Find my School’ search finder to confirm if their school falls under these two districts where the schools will be closed by visiting https://wcedemis.westerncape.gov.za/wced/findaschool.html.
Meanwhile at least 4,500 people were displaced and 15,000 structures damaged in and around Cape Town and the wider Western Cape province before the latest storm Wednesday night and those figures were expected to rise.
JP Smith, the Cape Town mayoral committee member for safety and security, said the city and non-governmental organizations had already provided more than 36,000 meals and distributed 6,000 blankets to affected people in the last two days.
Many people left homeless were in the impoverished informal settlements on the outskirts of Cape Town, where metal and wooden shacks are especially vulnerable to strong wind and flooding.
Three major rivers in the province had burst their banks, Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said.
The provincial disaster management services had ordered evacuations of some people in the agricultural area of Citrusdal and parts of the wine-growing region around Stellenbosch, which is around 30 miles (48 kilometers) inland from Cape Town, because of flooding.
Authorities were considering the controlled release of water from some dams as a “precautionary measure” to prevent them from overflowing and causing more damage, the provincial government said.
National Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi rejected the City of Cape Town’s request to devolve emergency funding to local government amid severe weather in the Western Cape. Kubayi led a delegation on Thursday to assess interventions for families in Khayelitsha affected by gale-force winds and heavy rains.