Africa News of Tuesday, 26 September 2023

Source: bbc.com

Deaths and destruction in SA's Western Cape storm

A severe storm hit South Africa's Western Cape province over the weekend A severe storm hit South Africa's Western Cape province over the weekend

Several people are said to have died in the aftermath of a storm in South Africa’s Western Cape province over the weekend, local media reported.

The deaths include four boys said to have been electrocuted in a pool of water, local news network ENCA says.

The authorities in the province on Tuesday said they were still looking for missing people and assessing damage in the province following the storm.

The heavy floods caused widespread destruction including damaging homes, forcing some to move out.

Roads and bridges and other infrastructure were also damaged and some areas were inaccessible with many roads still considered unsafe.

“The integrity of our roads are affected due to the disaster that has occurred in our province. I ask that citizens remain cautious when travelling,” Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said on Tuesday.

Cape Town city authorities said teams were making “steady progress” in restoring storm-related power outages in several areas.

It however added that it was not able to tell when restoration would be complete due to the conditions and the extent of the damage.