In photos: the Western Cape mops up after the storm
Roads closed, trucks stranded, thousands of homes waterlogged or damaged
Akhona Mbendulo, 33, tries to scoop water from her flooded home in Mbekweni informal settlement just outside Paarl. She has lived here since 2013 and says it has flooded every year since she moved there. Photo: David Harrison
Dozens of stranded trucks lined the main road in Wolseley on Tuesday as heavy rainfall and wind continued to batter parts of the Western Cape.
Many roads and passes in the Cape Winelands were closed due to mudslides or flooding.
In Paarl, families were mopping up flooded homes.
In Wolseley, a farming town in the Breede River Valley, several areas were flooded and many homes had been without electricity since Monday.
Video: Ashraf Hendricks
Water rises over a school bus in Wolseley. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks
Truck driver Hassan Nahimana from Cape Town was stranded in Wolseley without network connection due to power outages since 2am. He was transporting groceries to Prince Alfred Hamlet but floods cut off all the entry points.
Nahimana said he tried to take a route via Ceres and narrowly missed a mudslide on the pass. “I was lucky,” he said. “This storm is too much…I’ve been driving trucks for 20 years. It’s never been like this.”
Truck driver Hassan Nahimana was stranded in Wolseley and spent the night there. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks
Wolseley resident and farm worker Lucenda Pedro said she had not been able to go to work.
Their backyard was deep underwater, and the inside of the house was wet. A branch had broken off a tree outside their home had broken off and their fence was damaged.
Unable to cook or charge phones because of a power outage, the family was waiting out the storm. “We are watching to see if it gets better or not,” said Pedro.
In the Cape Winelands, vineyards and farms were underwater. The swollen Klein-Bergriver close to Tulbagh had burst its banks.
The Klein-Berg River burst its banks. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks
Several healthcare facilities in the Cape Winelands have also been closed such as Ceres’ Annie Brown clinic, Wolseley Clinic, Op Die Berg Clinic, Breerivier Clinic, and others.
The Witzenberg Municipality said in a statement that about five families had been evacuated from Wolseley, and one from Bainskloof. Several bridges in Ceres have flooded and parts of Prince Alfred Hamlet was inaccessible.
Vineyards were flooded. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks
Major electrical faults were reported by Eskom on Monday leading to outages in Ceres, Breerivier, De Doorns, Rawsonville, Witzenberg, Tulbagh, and Wolseley.
The Breede Valley Municipality said in a statement that gale-force winds “significantly damaged electrical infrastructure in certain parts of the municipal area which, coupled with challenging weather conditions, have complicated the restoration operations”.
Flooding and mudslides stranded trucks in Wolseley. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks
Many families were evacuated from the informal settlement in Rawsonville, Spokiesdorp, which was experiencing flooding. Severe weather across the country has claimed at least 10 lives.
A truck is submerged in water at the Wolseley exit. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks
According to the Cape Winelands District Municipality, several roads have closed due to mudslides and floods, such as a section of the N1 near Worcester, Bains Kloof Pass, and the Huguenot Tunnel.
Young boys huddle under an umbrella walking through the streets of Mbekweni in Paarl. Photo: David Harrison
Daniel Miller crossing a bridge over the fast-flowing Berg River tributary. He says in all the years he has been living there he has never seen the river flowing as fast. Photo: David Harrison
The entrance to the Huguenot Community Hall in Paarl was flooded on Tuesday. Photo: David Harrison
Disaster Risk Management supervisor Ryme Williams diverts traffic around flooded roads in Paarl. Photo: David Harrison
Vehicles wade through an industrial area outside Paarl as many routes surrounding the town were waterlogged. Photo: David Harrison
Support independent journalism
Donate using Payfast
Don't miss out on the latest news
We respect your privacy, and promise we won't spam you.
© 2026 GroundUp. This article is published under the GroundUp Republication Licence Version 1.0. Email [email protected] to request permission to republish.