2 Swartlands People Missing After Riverlands Dam Wall Collapse in Western Cape

• The collapse of the Riverlands Dam wall in Malmesbury caused by recent floods resulted in two people going missing
• The wall's damage resulted in a few homes being destroyed in the area, and thousands displaced
• Humanitarian aid group Gift of the Givers has been dispatched to assist those displaced by the floods

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered accidents, fires, outbreaks, nature and natural disaster-related incidents at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News for seven years.

WESTERN CAPE — Two people went missing, and thousands were displaced after the Riverlands Dam wall collapsed, causing flooding in Malmesbury, Western Cape.

Riverlands Dam wall collapsed, causing flooding

According to SABC News, two retention dams collapsed on 7 August, so two people went missing. Homes surrounding the area were damaged, and thousands were left without a roof over their heads after the wall collapsed.

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Gift of the Givers said Dassenberg residents let them know about the wall's collapse.

"We were then called by the Swartland District Municipality and the local disaster risk management teams asking for our urgent assistance. Gift of the Givers teams are en-route to assist the community with urgent humanitarian aid and our teams will do assessments once on the ground," spokesperson Ali Sablay said.

Gift of the Givers also announced on its Facebook page that there was a possibility the other walls surrounding the dam may collapse. The Western Cape has recently been affected by heavy rains in which 4000 people were displaced, and hundreds of homes were destroyed.

Western Cape officially declared a state of disaster

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the Western Cape government declared the area an official disaster.

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The declaration came after severe cold fronts affected the area. Regions including Drakenstein, Witzenberg and Stellenbosch received an orange level 6 warning.

The severe weather pattern affected about 100,000 people in Cape Town as roads and homes were flooded with water. The province struggled with resources for those badly affected and approached the National Disaster Management Centre for a disaster classification.

Source: Briefly News