With dam wall at risk of failing, evacuated residents in Newton, Wellington urged to stay away
The Drakenstein Municipality's Riana Geldenhuys said that neighbourhood watches and police were keeping an eye on the evacuated houses.
Heavy rain in the Western Cape caused flooding in the Cederberg on 10 July 2024. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/EWN
CAPE TOWN - Many Western Cape residents have had to evacuate their homes amid flooding and weather damage and as the heavy rains continue, residents of Newton in Wellington, who've evacuated their homes voluntarily, have been urged to stay away for now.
A dam nearby is overflowing and water is flooding into the community.
The Drakenstein Municipality's Riana Geldenhuys said that neighbourhood watches and police were keeping an eye on the evacuated houses.
"This followeds a thorough assessment, together with engineering experts and dam specialists, of the dam wall failure risk of a 150, 000-cubic-meter farm dam in the Bo-Dal area, above Newton, as well as an analysis of rain predictions for the next 48 hours."