Following the devastating heavy rain and floods in the Eastern Cape over the weekend, the South Africa Weather Service (SAWS) has issued yet another warning of severe windy and rainy conditions – this time to KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State.
Some political parties have called on the Eastern Cape government to declare a state of disaster after over 1 000 people have been misplaced.
The warning comes as floods caused havoc in the province with local authorities citing damaged infrastructure and bursting dams as main reasons for the free water flow. It has led to the death of seven people (at the time of publication) and many injured.
Snow, extreme cold predicted
Eben du Plessis, a farmer from the Eastern Cape and chairperson of the communications committee at Agri Eastern Cape, said they have not heard anything from their members regarding damages, however, some parts of the province have received good rains.
“There is lots of damage and floods in the southern parts of the province but the rest of the extensive areas, especially in the middle of Eastern Cape, have had nice, welcomed winter rain,” he said.
According to the weather service, the weather warning in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of the Eastern Cape are likely to damage infrastructure, property, and the risk of runaway fires.
“Very cold temperatures – maximum temperatures below 10°C – with mountain snowfalls are possible over the northern high ground of the Eastern Cape, the eastern high ground of the Western Cape, the southern high ground of the Northern Cape, parts of the Drakensberg and in Lesotho.
“The system is expected to weaken and exit over the country’s southern coast on Tuesday, with rainfall still expected over parts of the Western and Eastern Cape. The remainder of the country will see the return of clear weather conditions, but temperatures will remain cold,” South Africa Weather Service said in a statement.
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Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa has offered his condolences to families of those who have lost loved ones due to floods.
“The loss of life, destruction of public infrastructure and the loss of personal property brought about by the forces of nature saddens all of us as South Africans.
“The aftermath of these occurrences is best overcome when we work together in the way we are seeing in the Eastern Cape,” he said.
With rains expected to continue, the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality have evacuated over 200 people to safer areas. The MEC of cooperative governance, Zolile Williams, said government is offering beds, towels, food, water, and blankets to affected community members.
“We are confronting one of the most serious disasters that Kariega has experienced, the magnitude of the rain (272 mm of rain) was too high and our draining systems could not handle it. This led to serious deviations, horrible scenes where the road infrastructure was swept away in Kwanobuhle. This affected the clinic that is on the side of the bridge, therefore, the communities cannot access it.
“Health services are availed to the community members at Babs Madlakane. Strategic infrastructural plans have been devised to assist the impacted communities,” he said.
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