South Africa: Western Cape Communities Forced to Flee Their Homes After Dam Walls Collapse

It’s total destruction, says Gift of the Givers after two retention dams in Dassenberg near Malmesbury collapse, flooding houses and washing away roads

Residents in Dassenberg, Riverlands and Chatsworth near Malmesbury were left homeless after their homes were flooded when two retention dams in the area burst in the early hours of Thursday, 8 August 2024. The dams are located within the municipal borders of the City of Cape Town.

According to Anton Bredell, Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, who was on site after receiving calls about the flooding, the dam located on the property known as Dassenberg breached and resulted in severe flooding to parts of Riverlands, Chatsworth and Dassenberg.

advertisementDon’t want to see this? Remove adsGift of the Givers was called by the Swartland Municipality and local disaster management team in the early hours of the morning to provide assistance in evacuating people and supplying humanitarian aid.

“We found out that it was two retention dams that had burst, destroying a number of houses along the way. It is total destruction currently, roads have been washed away, people have lost absolutely everything,” Gift of the Givers spokesperson Ali Sablay said.

The organisation has set up a base at Riverlands Primary School, where it will provide humanitarian relief to the affected communities for the next…