By Ragheema Mclean
The Muslim Cemetery Board has cautioned the public against visiting cemeteries during storms or adverse weather conditions.
This comes after a video went viral on social media urging people to visit Mowbray cemetery to assist in cleaning up graves affected by heavy rainfall.
Speaking on VOC’s News Beat show, Chairperson of the Muslim Cemetery Board Faizal Sayed, highlighted the dangers of visiting grave sites during stormy weather.
“The cemetery staff are already struggling to manage the conditions, slipping and sliding as they try to attend to problems. Public presence during such times only increases the risk of accidents,” Sayed warned.
Recent storms have caused widespread flooding across the Western Cape, severely affecting cemeteries in the region. Several graveyards are facing significant challenges due to the heavy rainfall and strong winds, with more rain expected in the coming days.
“Cemeteries like Mowbray are hard hit because of the clay-like soil. There’s a lot of fluidity in the soil, and heavy winds have brought down trees,” explained Sayed.
“This flooding is affecting Janazah [funeral] proceedings and presents numerous challenges during burials.”
To manage the flooding, cemeteries are employing various strategies. At Mowbray, he said efforts are being made to bury higher up, although some areas still experience water seeping from the ground.
“We face two main issues: water saturation from the ground and heavy storms filling open graves with water. By the time a body is ready for burial, graves can be half-filled with water,” said Sayed.
“In such cases, the grave digger pumps out as much water as possible and pads the grave just before the Janazah [funeral].”
Meanwhile, Sayed also addressed concerns raised around requests to reopen graves, noting that these are sometimes declined based on safety considerations for both the deceased and the public.
He emphasized the increased workload on cemetery staff, who work in muddy, wet conditions from early morning until late at night due to the rise in funerals during the winter period.
“We can assure the public that burials are continuing as usual, but we ask the public to be patient and cooperate with us during these trying times,” Sayed added.
VOC News
Photo: VOCfm
