WC ANC calls on Winde to declare state of provincial disaster

CAPE TOWN - The African National Congress (ANC) in the Western Cape is calling on Premier Alan Winde to declare a state of provincial disaster, as destructive rains continue to batter the Cape.
 
Severe storms have hit the province since the weekend, affecting thousands of people. 
 
Significant damage to homes, roads, and public infrastructure have been reported.
 
Areas hardest hit include the City of Cape Town, Cape Winelands district, Overberg and the West Coast.

Leader of the opposition, Khalid Sayed, said that a provincial disaster declaration would allow the provincial government to get funding to address the crisis.
 
"It will also allow the provincial government to assist NGOs who are already doing sterling work on the ground. Homes are destroyed, many rivers are at full capacity and at risk of flooding. This is a disaster for thousands of people across the Western Cape."
 
Meanwhile, Western Cape disaster management head, Colin Deiner, said that they would apply for a disaster status once all the assessments were done.
 
"This has to be classified by the national disaster management centre as a disaster, be it a provincial or local disaster. So we'll ask for that classification. If we do receive the classification, then we will declare a disaster which will enable us to do the extraordinary measures that we need to deal with this incident."