A cold front arrived in Cape Town late between Saturday 11 July 2009 and early on Sunday morning. The model runs prior to this event continued to show only moderate rainfall totals, though this was not the case as I personally measured 91mm in a 24 hour period in Somerset West. This was from 7pm on Saturday to 7pm on Sunday. These heavy rains brough damage to numerous houses (including mine) as waters piled up and seeped beneath doors.

Gordon Richardson from CapeTownSkies also reported the following from the Cape Town area:

Damage report (personal observation):

1. The Liesbeek River exceeded its flood level, causing damage to house(s) and in the Newlands area.

2. One of the streams coming off Devil's Peak seems to have overflowed. The road leading down from Rhodes Memorial was filled with fist-sized rocks and mud. The intersection with the N3 was flooded, and southbound traffic is backed up. The exit ramp from UCT southbound has been partly undermined.

3. The Liesbeek River overtopped the Rouwkoop Rd bridge in Rondebosch. There is mud on the road surface, and some of the road has subsided slightly. Pavements and nearby walkways are covered in debris and mud.

At the time of writing this article the rain was still coming down with no breaks and the rain gauge showing a further 7mm in the past hour since 7pm.

The picture below is of the Beaumont Primary School field in Somerset West.

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