Cape Town: Some service departments have been inundated with requests from the public and most notably recorded 1155 requests to fallen trees and branches between May 10 and 12, 2026. Also, some community facilities too have sustained impacts and work which is to address the damage.
Despite the severity of the weather conditions the Recreation and Parks teams were fully activated ahead of the storms and have been working around the clock to respond to incidents, clear hazards and restore services as quickly and safely as possible.
Fallen trees and related debris featured prominently among reported incidents, with the City’s Recreation and Parks Department receiving over 1000 service requests between Sunday, May 10, 2026 and midday on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. Additional storm-related requests have since brought the total number of tree-related service requests to 1764.
The department conducts proactive maintenance in the lead up to winter and then has teams on standby on a 24-hour basis during the season to respond to tree emergencies, using chainsaws, trimmers, cherry pickers and other specialised equipment to clear trees from roadways or impacted infrastructure.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Services and Health – Councillor Francine Higham stated that the number of service requests is unprecedented and points to just how severe the weather has been in recent days.
Considering all this, Higham commended the teams for their hard work, despite the challenging circumstances. They have had to prioritise the requests based on the level of impact, like blocking roadways or properties and asked the public to please be patient as the teams make their way through the very lengthy list of tasks.
The public is reminded to refrain from trimming or removing City-owned trees themselves, as this contravenes relevant by-laws.
Recreation and Parks staff are also conducting assessments at cemeteries to check for and address weather-related impacts. Cemeteries are prone to localised flooding and falling trees during conditions as the ones experienced in recent days.
Cllr Higham also mentioned that they are also conducting assessments of all facilities within the Community Services and Health Directorates. They will work to repair any damage as soon as possible to reduce the impact on the facility users and communities at large.