The Philippi Clinic has been closed by the City of Cape Town after heavy rainfall flooded the facility on Wednesday night.
‘The Philippi Clinic has experienced flooding as a result of the rainfall overnight,’ said Patricia van der Ross, Mayco member for community services and health in an interview with News24.
Also read: Paarl Mediclinic Hospital emergency centre closed amidst severe weather
‘Staff and clients are unable to access the facility due to water levels in the yard,’ Van der Ross added.
Ross further stated that the clinic would be ‘closed until further notice’.
‘Clients are advised to please visit the Hanover Park community health centre. We are assessing the situation and will update members of the public accordingly,’ said Van der Ross.
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) further issued a Yellow level 2 warning for damaging waves, on Thursday, 18 July.
The waves were likely to result in ‘difficultly navigating at sea’ between Saldanha Bay and Cape Agulhas on Friday, 19 July, and would spread to Plettenberg Bay on Saturday, 20 July.
Strong gale force winds between 55kph and 65kph were forecast, along with ‘waves of four to six metres’.
A weather advisory were also been put into place for disruptive rain in the Breede Valley, Drakenstein, Langeberg, Stellenbosch and Witzenberg on Thursday.
Another cold front expected to influence the Western Cape today with scattered to widespread rainfall expected. The rest of the country can expect fine and cool to warm conditions pic.twitter.com/Q8GSntmxgV
— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) July 18, 2024
On Sunday, 14 July, sections of a private hospital in Paarl were temporarily closed after it was flooded, with the Mediclinic hospital being forced to temporarily close its main entrance and emergency unit.
‘Mediclinic Paarl experienced excessive rainfall over the past few days, which caused flooding in certain areas. As a result, the emergency centre has been temporarily relocated to an alternative site in the hospital,’ the hospital stated on Drakenstein Municipality’s Facebook page.
‘Due to this relocation, Mediclinic Paarl is able to offer a limited emergency centre service but will continue to prioritise life-threatening medical emergencies,’ the statement added.
On Monday, 14 July, the Western Cape was declared a disaster area after the provincial government ‘requested the status’ from the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC).
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Footage: Elsies River knee-deep in water after morning rains
Picture: Screenshot / Google Maps