PetroSA Donates 1.5 Million to Cape Flood Victims

The Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa (PetroSA), the country's state-owned oil company, on Wednesday donated R1.5 million to assist those most affected by the recent rains in the Western Cape.

PetroSA Vice-President for Operations Dan Marokane said the company was committed to community development and the protection of South African communities.

This relief effort is part of our program to ensure that we create a quality life for South African communities," Mr Marokane said, when speaking at the handing over of the cheque to the City of Cape Town.

The donation will be used to buy blankets, food and other essentials.

On Wednesday, the city's Disaster Risk Management said 31 000 informal settlement residents from around the city had been affected by the floods.

About 3 000 have been moved to community halls as their living conditions had become unbearable.

Mr Marokane said: "The saddening pictures of desperation and displacement have galvanised PetroSA to action. We have witnessed with disbelief the havoc that has displaced communities and devastated peoples' livelihoods."

Mr Marokane called for greater involvement by other companies in the relief efforts.

Mayor Helen Zille has announced that the city has acquired land worth R100 million for residential development to move those who are living in low-lying areas and therefore susceptible to floods every rainy season.

"The land will be used to accommodate people living in low-lying flood-ravaged areas," said Ms Zille, adding that lack of suitable land was one of the contributing factors to the flood crisis.

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) confirmed that the driving rains in much of the province over the past days have been heavier than usual.

In a statement warning residents of further bad weather, SAWS says Cape Town's average rainfall for July is around 83mm, and the more than 93mm that has fallen during the first week of this month indicates that July 2008 could be a very wet month.

It is almost halfway towards the 2001 record of 207.8mm, said SAWS.

Though the rain has stop in the province, snowfalls and plummeting temperatures have set in for several more days in the rest country warned the weather services.

Very cold conditions are expected on the high ground of the Western, Northern and Eastern Cape Provinces, in the southern and eastern Free State and Lesotho until Saturday.

Black frost is possible in the Free State, the west of North-West Province and the extreme east of the Northern Cape. Very rough seas, with wave heights exceeding 5.0m, are expected between Cape St Francis and Port St Johns, moderating from the west.

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