Western Cape fire in South Africa under control, two hotspots left

AllAfrica.com via SAPA: The Muizenberg fire that broke out over the weekend leading to hundreds of people being evacuated was under control on Thursday, Cape Town Disaster Risk Management said. "The fire is under control; we are currently dealing with hotspots in Clovelly and Constantia north," spokeswoman Charlotte Powell said. "The crews remained through the night and this morning [Thursday] helicopters will go out and inspect the area but currently the fire is under control."

By Wednesday, a total of 500 people had been evacuated since the fire began. The fire started on Sunday and was contained, but flared up again just after 2am on Monday in Muizenberg above Boyes Drive. It was fanned by strong winds. It spread to Ou Kaapse Weg, Chapman's Peak, Hout Bay, and Tokai.

One city fire-fighter sustained burn wounds and 52 frail-care residents from a Noordhoek retirement village were treated for smoke inhalation.

More than 2000 people were helping to quell the fire on Wednesday, the environmental affairs department said at the time. This figure included 150 members of the department's Working on Fire (WoF) programme, spokesman Zolile Nqayi said in a statement.

Fifty more people from Volunteer Wildfires Services and 250 WoF fire-fighters had been dispatched from other provinces to join the effort. A total of 26 aircraft had been in the air since Sunday, Nqayi said....

A 2009 fire on Cape Town's Table Mountain, shot by Warren Rohner Warren Rohner, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license 

Capetown flooding affects 18,000 people

South African News Agency: Widespread and heavy rains have caused flooding across the Western Cape Province, which affected about 18 000 people, says the City of Cape Town.

Approximately 18 000 people in areas including Delft, Faure, Fish Hoek, Gugulethu, Hout Bay, Khayelitsha, Kraaifontein, Kuils River, Macassar, Phillippi, Scarborough, Sir Lowry's Pass, Somerset West, Strand and Vahalla Park were flooded and people have been sheltered in various halls.

Over 120 patients were also evacuated from Vergelegen Mediclinic to various hospitals when the entire hospital was submerged in water.

According to the City of Cape Town, their disaster risk management officials were providing shelter for those affected, restoring electricity, draining water systems and assessing damage to buildings and roads. The rain is expected to continue into Sunday, according to the Weather Services... 

Cape Town at night, seen from Table Mountain, shot by Discott, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license