Eastridge resident Charney Bosman and her family had to break down a newly built wall to let water drain away after heavy rains flooded houses in the area, last Friday.
“We couldn’t get out of the house. They always promise to fix this problem. We’ve been calling for 17 years, but they do nothing about it. Our whole house was flooded,” she said.
Ms Bosman said it was not fair that they had to fix damage caused by a municipal drainage problem.
“What if it rains at night? What happens to the children? What happens to us? We’ve got small children, asthmatic. The water stinks like poo when it comes into our homes. Our electrical appliances break. We had to break a wall so the water can just subside in our house,” she said.
Her neighbours were having similar problems, she said.
City Disaster Risk Management Centre (DRMC) spokeswoman Charlotte Powell said the incident had not been reported to them.
She encouraged residents to call the City on 107 from a cell phone or 021 480 7700 from a landline for any emergencies.
“The City is unable to assist when it comes to private property because these residents need to claim from insurance,” she said.
The DRMC identifies, prevents or reduces the occurrence of disasters and softens the impact of those that cannot be prevented.
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