Hex River Valley not a disaster area

The Western Cape Agriculture Department on Wednesday said there is no need to declare the Hex River Valley a disaster area.

The region was lashed by inclement weather for several days last week, with hail storms and flooding devastating at least eight farms and destroying some roads.

Agriculture MEC Gerrit van Rensburg toured the region and met with affected farmers.

The department’s Wouter Kriel said that despite the damage caused, it is not on such a scale that a disaster area needs to be declared.

“Mr van Rensburg has indicated that the department’s engineers should look at some areas that were flooded to see whether the flow of the water could be diverted to prevent future damage,” he said.

- EWN