Two Hangberg woman say they have struggled in vain for almost three years to get the City to repair damage to their homes, which they claim was caused by a municipal construction project.

The damage, say Deidre Strauss and Yusrah Mohammed, has made their homes vulnerable to leaks and flooding. It was caused, they say, when the City built a walkway behind their Salamander homes.

“For the past 24 years that I've been staying here, I never had this problem, but ever since the City made the road at the back of my house three years ago, water keeps streaming into my house every time it rains,” said Ms Strauss, who lives in the house with her four adult children and 2-year-old granddaughter.

“I’ve contacted our ward councillor, Roberto Quintas, ever since this started, which is almost three years ago, and hardly anything has happened. He’s never been to my place to have a look. All I got so far was a plastic sheet cover for my roof and a food parcel from the City. I have to constantly sweep the water our through my front door.”

She said her cement floor had cracked as a result of the flooding.

“I’m not the only one. There’s lots of people with the same problem. The water is even coming from underneath the house. I first noticed the water streaming into my house three years ago during a heavy storm. When I alerted the City, that night they came and put sandbags around my place to stop the water from coming in, which didn’t help.”

Ms Strauss said she suffered from asthma and the constant dampness inside her home was not good for her health.

Ms Mohammed said she had continued to find water seeping up from under her house ever since the walkway had been built.

“I tried stopping the rain by stuffing some of my bedding to block the flood points.

“My house stays damp even after five days. I’ve got a 5-year-old child who keeps having chest problems. I don’t have to wonder where it comes from. I even had to throw out cupboards and some kitchen furniture from the damage,” Ms Mohammed said.

Mr Quintas, said City staff had visited the site last week to investigate.

“This led to the the conclusion that more investigations are required around this matter. This appears to be underground water that is rising to the surface. Further investigation will determine the exact nature of this problem,” he said.

Water damage to the headboard of Deidre Strauss’s bed.

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