The Cape Storm has claimed a life. Police say a man was walking on a pavement near to the corners of Range Road and Stellenbosch arterial Roads on Thursday morning at around 07:00 when he slipped and fell into a nearby canal.

At the time of the incident the roads were flooded. SAPS and fire and rescue divers were deployed to the area to search the area where the person was last seen by an eyewitness.

Sadly, his body was retrieved from the water and he was declared deceased on the scene.

Numerous canals and rivers have burst their banks, or is near bursting their banks, with more rain predicted overnight.

The City earlier appealed to communities to keep children away from all water bodies, as it is a health and safety risk.

This after it detected incidents via its CCTV network, of children playing in flooded roadways and near water bodies that are flowing at near capacity.

The damage caused by the Level 8 storm has been immense.

In Wynberg, the roofs of at least four houses was ripped off by gale force winds overnight. Social media posts suggested a tornado was to blame, but the South African Weather Service says it’s very unlikely and there is no evidence of that.

Besides the damage to houses in Wynberg, electricity infrastructure has also been seriously damaged.

Tens of thousands of people have been affected by the inclement weather.

Since the start of the week, various NGOs have been offering humanitarian relief to residents. According to the City’s Sonica Lategan, organisations distributed nearly 45,000 meals, nearly 10,000 blankets, as well as beanies, mattresses and hygiene packs to affected communities.

While flooding has been widespread throughout the province, residents in the Cape Town Metro have been the hardest:

• 6 928 structures across the city have been affected, impacting over 8 000 people; and
• Since the first cold front made landfall, around 14 000 structures have sustained damages, affecting more than 15 000 people across the province.

The City issued more than 6 500 flood kits, while other service departments continue to attend to flooded roadways and electrical faults, amongst others.

The stormy weather has also left 25 000 Eskom customers without power, throughout the province.

While authorities cautioned motorists to stay off the roads where possible, many braved the storm, resulting in numerous crashes on Thursday morning during the peak commute.

Dozens of areas were completely waterlogged, with residents in areas such as Mitchell’s Plain, Elsies River, Blackheath, Parow, Goodwood and Ravensmead, to name but a few, having to wade through knee deep water.

While damage assessments are expected to continue for several days, disruptive rains will ease from Friday.

A yellow Level 4 warning will be in place for Friday, into Saturday over the City of Cape Town,  Swartland, Drakenstein, Stellenbosch and Theewaterskloof.

Meanwhile, it is back to school for learners in the Cape Town metro, West Coast and the Eden and Central Karoo Education Districts on Friday.

READ: WCED says schools to reopen on Friday as storm expected to calm

This after schools were closed on Thursday as a safety precaution due to ongoing disruptive heavy rains and strong winds.

Schools in the Cape Winelands and Overberg districts will however remain closed.

Provincial Education MEC David Maynier says 217 schools across the province have now reported some form of damage to school infrastructure or disruption.

ALSO READ: City cautions on cemetery operations

All City Nature Reserves, as well as a number of SANParks trails have been closed due to the stormy weather.

Both Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and Premier Alan Winde says authorities will remain on high alert to respond to any eventuality.