CLIMATE CHAOS OP-ED: Franschhoek’s floods are not only about an abnormal rainfall event, they are compound disasters

Flood disasters in South Africa are not only natural events. Pollution and poor river management are causing far worse damage, as was shown during the recent extreme weather in the Western Cape.

The recent flooding in Franschhoek has once again exposed the growing vulnerability of communities, farms and critical environmental infrastructure to extreme weather events. The intense rainfall was undoubtedly unusual for early winter, with 160mm reported in the valley from 10 to 12 May 2026. Most attention was focused on the flood damage to the formal town and the clearing operations that followed. Less attention was given to the flood damage along the Stiebeuel River, a relatively small stream during low flow, with its headwaters less than 3km from the town centre before discharging into the Franschhoek River. The river passes through a densely populated informal settlement with an estimated population of 12,000 – four times the size of the formal town of Franschhoek.

The storm event caused temporary flooding on the slopes of the informal settlement, but wind damage was more severe to the housing structures in the settlement. Residents have had their resilience tested again. On 23 and 24 September 2023, more than 300mm of rainfall was recorded in the catchment. The previous flood and most recent have revealed an uncomfortable truth: climate change and unseasonal weather events are colliding with failing waste management systems, underserved informal settlements and human behaviour in ways that are amplifying disaster risk and consequences.

The Stiebeuel River overtopped its shallow banks, causing extensive damage to nearby farms and to the Water Hub research site on the lower stretches of the river. In the aftermath, field observations indicate that large quantities of solid waste trapped within and beneath river crossings obstructed the natural flow of water, causing the river to back up and spill over its banks.

The lesson is becoming clear. Flood disasters in South Africa are not only natural events, but are also social and infrastructural failures from limited, sometimes overwhelmed municipal services in informal settlements.

Climate scientists have warned that climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events across many parts of southern Africa and the Western Cape in particular. The extreme rainfall event from 10 to 12 May was caused by the deep wedge in the Atlantic High-Pressure System that brought low-pressure systems laden with moist air that met landfall in Cape Town and surrounding mountainous regions. Warme