Families cut off by torrential rains along Hex River receive aid

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The Breede Valley local municipality, working with humanitarian aid organisation the Gift of the Givers, has coordinated the efforts to transport food supplies and other essentials to at least 60 families cut off along the Hex River outside Worcester, Western Cape.

The river burst its banks earlier this week due to torrential rains.

Teams are hard at work, trying to clear the roadway at this bridge which is now submerged.

A nearby farming community has been cut off due to the flooded road and bridge.

The South African Weather Service issued another Level 8 warning for more disruptive rain, thwarting the relief efforts currently underway.

Earlier, Gift of the Givers provided warm meals, blankets, hygiene products and baby care packs to about 150 people who were evacuated from the Spooky Town informal settlement in Rawsonville.

The aid organisation says it has been providing over 50 000 warm meals daily to those displaced by the inclement weather in the province.

The Western Cape Government says it has received a notification from the National Disaster Risk Management Centre for a provincial disaster classification.

Assistance for affected families

Meanwhile, Minister of Human Settlements Mmamoloko Kubayi has announced steps to assist families who have been affected by the flooding in the Western Cape.

She says accommodation had been arranged for families forced to evacuate their homes.

The Minister was addressing media on disaster management plans to help people affected by the severe weather in the Western Cape and the veld fires in Kwazulu-Natal.

Disaster Update | Minister Kubayi outlines interventions on fires and floods: