Climate Change Blamed as Record Rains Flood S. Africa’s Cape
- Western Cape floods may be worst in 100 years, official says
- Country has been beset by flooding, fires in recent months
A man carries an elderly man across a flooded road during heavy flooding following a storm in Sir Lowry's Village, South Africa, on Sept. 25.
Photographer: Rodger Bosch/AFP/Getty Images
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Climate change intensified the torrential rain and flooding that’s swept South Africa’s Western Cape over the past two days, claiming at least 11 lives and forcing the evacuation of about 1,000 low-lying homes, the region’s top officials said.
The rains, which came just a week after larger-than-normal spring tides and earlier deluges, closed major routes into Cape Town, a coastal city of four million people, and damaged wheat crops, bridges and other infrastructure.