Somerset West was severely affected by the destructive storms in the Western Cape in May 2026. The region experienced days of intense cut-off low-pressure systems, bringing torrential rain and hurricane-force winds of up to 117 km/hr. This caused major infrastructure failures, severe localised flooding, and widespread damage to schools.

One of our residents at The Somerset, Marius Kritzinger, wrote: “What a storm, what a night!”

Media reports and a newsflash from our manager, Nick, during the week of 4 May warned residents of a devastating storm approaching the Western Cape and Garden Route. We were constantly checking the weather Apps on our mobile phones and took the necessary precautions, such as bringing doormats, sun umbrellas, and garden furniture indoors on the Sunday night of 10 May. Before we went to bed, the wind got worse, and we did a final round to ensure that all windows and doors were properly closed and locked. Little did we know at 22h30 that night, what would happen over the next 7 hours.

We could not sleep because of the rain belting against the windows and the frightening sound of the wind, which, by approximately 02h00, we estimated must have reached gale force. To comfort ourselves, we were chatting about similar frightening experiences we have had during the past sixty years – leaking roofs at a newly built house, wind damage at our holiday house at Rooi Els and facing a storm at sea in a relatively small boat while holidaying in the Seychelles. On the positive side, we mentioned how thankful and privileged we are not to be living in an informal settlement at a time like this, but in a sturdy, beautiful house where we have felt safe and experienced strong South Easterly winds many times in the past. But this night the wind came from the opposite side – from the North-West. Our chatting and encouraging each other were disrupted at 04h30 by a noise like a bomb exploding, followed by a shuddering of the roof above our bedroom, and then the sound of falling building material. Running from our bedroom and switching on the outside lights, we were shocked by what we saw: broken tiles and battens all over our patio and garden, with more rubble flying down in the heavy wind and rain. Because it was still dark and there was a risk of being injured or killed by falling tiles, we could not go outside to determine which parts of the roof were damaged.

At times like this, cool heads are required, and crisis management kicked in immediately. We quickly gathered ourselves, and Hester made us coffee while I contacted our security officers on duty as well as EQiGate – after all, we are all equipped with their instrument to call for assistance in times of distress. EQiGate contacted our Care Centre, who sent a Carer (in pouring rain) to comfort us, followed a short while later by Celeste, our Home-base Care Manager, still in her pajamas, to check whether we were fine. The Security officer on duty contacted Melvyn, our Security manager, who also came to offer his assistance. But, during the storm and that time of the morning, all Emergency Services were inundated with calls from other distressed people. Our main objective was to prevent our furniture and other valuable items inside the house, such as paintings, from getting wet and damaged by the pouring rain. Because it was impossible to get assistance from the Fire Brigade to cover the roof in these stormy conditions, we did the best we could – putting buckets, towels and newspapers in the areas where most of the water was coming through the ceilings. This carried on all day Monday, and that night the two of us took hourly turns to replace wet towels and empty overflowing buckets, while the tumble dryer worked nonstop to supply us with dry towels.

Tuesday came, and it was still windy and raining, with the weather forecast promising less rain and wind for Wednesday. What happened on Tuesday was proof to us what the advantages are of living in a village like ours. It started at 08h00 that morning, when Dion Potgieter, the developer’s MD, came to assess our situation and the damage to our property. Throughout the day we were inundated with calls from concerned friends and even residents we have never met who drove past our house and noticed the damage, while others arrived with food for us. At 14h00 there were signs that the worst of the storm had passed, and despite intermittent rain, a ground team from the developer arrived to remove and cart away all the rubble. The next day, Wednesday, the specialised roofing teams from the developer arrived while loads with new roof tiles, battens and tools were offloaded. All broken tiles still on the roof were removed, and the company that installed our solar panels a few years ago removed all the panels to allow the roofing team to replace the damaged tiles beneath them. By 17h00 on Wednesday afternoon, the repairs to the roof, except for the 6 new solar panels, were completed. If all this drama had happened to us living outside the village, I perceive that the damage would still not have been repaired, but because of the developer’s workforce and the available stock of replacement tiles and battens, repair work could start immediately. Living outside The Somerset, I would have had to get quotes from contractors (who were probably overloaded with damage quotes from other clients) and would probably have been put on a waiting list for the supply and availability of the correct tiles. Here, all this was immediately available from the developer.

We would like to thank the developer and their teams for bending over backward to assist us in this crisis, thereby preventing further damage to our beautiful and valuable art and furniture. Thank you to the admin staff in our office as well as staff from the Care Centre who assisted us early on that Monday morning. A big thank you to our lovely neighbours, Bert and Hillary Ibertson and Elize Steyn on the other side, for their support and assistance. We are privileged to have neighbours like them despite damage to Elize’s bathroom window caused by tiles from our roof.

To all other residents and friends, thank you very much for your calls, support and food you have brought us. It is indeed a blessing and a privilege to live in a community with people like you!”

~Marius Kritzinger

To meet the passionate staff who work hard behind the scenes to ensure a peaceful existence for residents, please click here.