Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
Interpellation 2
Whether the measures that had been implemented at the beginning of the winter ensured that authorities adequately and timeously responded to storm damage and flooding?
The measures implemented at the beginning of winter enabled authorities to respond adequately and timeously to storm damage and flooding across municipalities in the Western Cape. The Department of Local Government, through the Western Cape Provincial Disaster Management Centre (WCDMC), ensured that municipalities submitted winter readiness plans as early as February 2025. These plans, combined with the Department's Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Plan, laid the groundwork for a coordinated and rapid response to emergencies should the need arise.
Although the Western Cape experienced flooding events this winter, the province did not face the same scale of major flooding as in 2023 and 2024. The events that did occur primarily affected informal settlements and included instances of localised flash flooding that impacted roads and residential areas. Municipalities were able to manage these impacts effectively through their existing structures and response mechanisms.
Early weather warnings from the South African Weather Service (SAWS), supported by Impact-Based Warning Systems and effective public communication strategies, assisted municipalities and communities prepare in advance. These warnings were shared with municipalities and departments, and social media platforms were utilised to communicate preparedness messages to the community, depending on the severity of the warnings.
Municipalities also benefited from community resilience training, flood awareness campaigns, and operational partnerships with NGOs and rescue organisations such as SARZA and the NSRI, ensuring that emergency responses were both fast and well-coordinated.
The Western Cape Disaster Management Centre also conducted awareness campaigns across the Overberg, Garden Route, West Coast, and Cape Winelands districts, focusing on the following key areas:
• Fire risk awareness
• Flood hazard preparedness
• Household safety practices
• Promotion of essential emergency contact numbers.
In addition, financial and human resource support such as the appointment of disaster management interns and funding allocations for flood responses strengthened local capacity. The Western Cape Disaster Management Centre funded the appointment of ten (10) Disaster Management interns in the Garden Route, West Coast, Overberg, Central Karoo and Cape Winelands districts.
The Garden Route District Municipality received a Fire Service Capacity Building Grant valued at R2.5 million from the Department of Local Government. These funds were strategically invested in the procurement of flood response and swift water rescue equipment, significantly enhancing the municipality’s ability to respond effectively to flood-related emergencies.
This investment not only strengthens rescue and response capacity within the Garden Route but also contributes to improved emergency services across the broader Western Cape province.
The ongoing monitoring of infrastructure repairs from past disasters, further ensured that affected areas were restored efficiently.
These proactive, multi-level interventions reflect that the winter preparedness measures taken by the Western Cape Disaster Management and its stakeholders were effective in ensuring a prompt and capable response to storm and flood-related challenges.
