View all in Latest
View all in Local
View all in Politics
View all in Opinion
View all in Business
View all in Lifestyle
View all in Sport
View all in Video
View all in Cartoons
20°C / 22°C
  • Mon
  • 27°C
  • 12°C
  • Tue
  • 25°C
  • 11°C
  • Wed
  • 26°C
  • 14°C
  • Thu
  • 28°C
  • 15°C
  • Fri
  • 29°C
  • 16°C
  • Sat
  • 29°C
  • 16°C
  • Mon
  • 25°C
  • 13°C
  • Tue
  • 21°C
  • 14°C
  • Wed
  • 20°C
  • 14°C
  • Thu
  • 20°C
  • 14°C
  • Fri
  • 22°C
  • 15°C
  • Sat
  • 22°C
  • 15°C
  • Mon
  • 27°C
  • 14°C
  • Tue
  • 26°C
  • 13°C
  • Wed
  • 27°C
  • 14°C
  • Thu
  • 29°C
  • 17°C
  • Fri
  • 30°C
  • 18°C
  • Sat
  • 29°C
  • 18°C
  • Mon
  • 29°C
  • 9°C
  • Tue
  • 28°C
  • 13°C
  • Wed
  • 28°C
  • 16°C
  • Thu
  • 30°C
  • 16°C
  • Fri
  • 31°C
  • 18°C
  • Sat
  • 32°C
  • 18°C
  • Mon
  • 22°C
  • 17°C
  • Tue
  • 26°C
  • 18°C
  • Wed
  • 26°C
  • 19°C
  • Thu
  • 23°C
  • 19°C
  • Fri
  • 25°C
  • 18°C
  • Sat
  • 31°C
  • 22°C
  • Mon
  • 20°C
  • 14°C
  • Tue
  • 25°C
  • 14°C
  • Wed
  • 20°C
  • 16°C
  • Thu
  • 21°C
  • 14°C
  • Fri
  • 22°C
  • 14°C
  • Sat
  • 22°C
  • 16°C
  • Mon
  • 29°C
  • 9°C
  • Tue
  • 29°C
  • 15°C
  • Wed
  • 20°C
  • 12°C
  • Thu
  • 23°C
  • 12°C
  • Fri
  • 26°C
  • 13°C
  • Sat
  • 20°C
  • 12°C
  • Mon
  • 24°C
  • 12°C
  • Tue
  • 23°C
  • 15°C
  • Wed
  • 18°C
  • 14°C
  • Thu
  • 20°C
  • 13°C
  • Fri
  • 23°C
  • 15°C
  • Sat
  • 19°C
  • 14°C
  • Mon
  • 30°C
  • 13°C
  • Tue
  • 29°C
  • 15°C
  • Wed
  • 28°C
  • 15°C
  • Thu
  • 31°C
  • 16°C
  • Fri
  • 32°C
  • 18°C
  • Sat
  • 31°C
  • 18°C
  • Mon
  • 27°C
  • 8°C
  • Tue
  • 34°C
  • 11°C
  • Wed
  • 26°C
  • 18°C
  • Thu
  • 31°C
  • 14°C
  • Fri
  • 34°C
  • 14°C
  • Sat
  • 36°C
  • 15°C
  • Mon
  • 19°C
  • 13°C
  • Tue
  • 23°C
  • 14°C
  • Wed
  • 30°C
  • 13°C
  • Thu
  • 31°C
  • 15°C
  • Fri
  • 28°C
  • 17°C
  • Sat
  • 31°C
  • 18°C
  • Mon
  • 21°C
  • 11°C
  • Tue
  • 29°C
  • 14°C
  • Wed
  • 20°C
  • 13°C
  • Thu
  • 21°C
  • 10°C
  • Fri
  • 24°C
  • 13°C
  • Sat
  • 22°C
  • 14°C
Go

Masiphumelele residents now face cold front after deadly fire

Community leaders said that residents were in need of donations of blankets, clothes, school stationery and food.

Masiphumelele residents survey the damage a day after a fire swept through the settlement on 29 July 2019. Picture: Monique Mortlock/EWN
Masiphumelele residents survey the damage a day after a fire swept through the settlement on 29 July 2019. Picture: Monique Mortlock/EWN
| 139 days ago

CAPE TOWN - The cold front in Cape Town is hitting one community especially hard on Tuesday.

Over 1,200 residents from Masiphumelele have been affected by a fire that gutted at least 256 structures in the township on Sunday night.

One person died in the fire, while four others, including three firefighters, were injured.

Today's cold front brings with it heavy downpours, strong winds and icy temperatures and for Masiphumelele residents whose homes were gutted in Sunday's fire, it has worsened an already devastating situation.

On Monday, as residents were surveying what they'd lost, the wind started picking up, whipping up ash, dust, bits of debris and pieces of iron sheets.

The City of Cape Town has made emergency shelter available in a community hall and local church, but some residents have opted to stay on the site of where their shack once stood.

Eugenia Siwela said she was scared that if she left her spot, someone might encroach on her section but she wanted to rebuild her structure as soon as possible, come rain or shine.

"I'm worried because I've been standing a long time in this cold here, from 2am this morning up until now, I'm standing here in this cold."

Community leaders said that residents were in need of donations of blankets, clothes, school stationery and food.

Timeline

More in Local

Comments

EWN welcomes all comments that are constructive, contribute to discussions in a meaningful manner and take stories forward.

However, we will NOT condone the following:

- Racism (including offensive comments based on ethnicity and nationality)
- Sexism
- Homophobia
- Religious intolerance
- Cyber bullying
- Hate speech
- Derogatory language
- Comments inciting violence.

We ask that your comments remain relevant to the articles they appear on and do not include general banter or conversation as this dilutes the effectiveness of the comments section.

We strive to make the EWN community a safe and welcoming space for all.

EWN reserves the right to: 1) remove any comments that do not follow the above guidelines; and, 2) ban users who repeatedly infringe the rules.

Should you find any comments upsetting or offensive you can also flag them and we will assess it against our guidelines.

EWN is constantly reviewing its comments policy in order to create an environment conducive to constructive conversations.

comments powered by Disqus
COPYRIGHT 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | Terms & Conditions | Privacy | PAIA