Picture: Shamiela Fisher/HeartFM News
The winter season and accompanying storms over the past several weeks, have affected people, infrastructure and facilities across the Western Cape.
The constant heavy rain has caused widespread flooding, also impacting cemeteries across the region.
The Mowbray Muslim Cemetery in Observatory, Cape Town is one of them.
HeartFM’s Shamiela Fisher visited the cemetery on Monday.
It’s wet and windy as it starts to drizzle.
The supervisor at the Mowbray Moselm Cemetery, Ahmed Salaasa, guides the walk through the muddy, narrow paths.
The first stop is at a newly dug grave, that had been prepared for a funeral, on Monday.
The grave is waterlogged.
Salaasa points out many graves that have caved in – and trees that have collapsed.
This he says, is due to the clay-like soil and that this is a recurring problem.
The Chairman of the Muslim Cemetery Board, Faizel Sayed, says this cemetery experiences a range of issues due to the adverse weather conditions.
Sayed cautions people against visiting the cemeteries during stormy weather, due to safety concerns.
He does however call on families to visit the cemetery a few days after the water levels have receded- if they want to visit the grave of a loved one.
