Cape Town - Gale force winds, large waves, snow and heavy rainfall have hit the Western Cape today, as the cold front made landfall on Monday morning.
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) said the adverse weather conditions may cause damage in localised infrastructure along the Western Cape coastline, as well as difficulty in navigation at sea for small vessels, with the likelihood of vessels taking on water and possibly capsizing.
Disaster Risk Management (DRM) spokesperson Charlotte Powell said the weather conditions consist of disruptive rainfall, strong winds and wave heights up to six metres.
Powell said that emergency services were on standby to deal with any impact related to the predicted adverse weather conditions.
The DRM appealed to residents to help reduce the risk of flooding by clearing out drainage systems, raising the floor level of a structure so that it is higher than the natural ground level, making sandbags, digging trenches around the house to divert water away and reporting blocked drains, intakes, and illegal dumping in the stormwater canals and sewers – which made flooding worse
Powell said the City was still providing much needed assistance to communities affected by the significant rainfall over the past two weeks, as some areas were still waterlogged.
Local Government and Environmental Affairs MEC Anton Bredell said the cold conditions were also bringing a strong possibility of disruptive snowfall, which could be as deep as 15cm over the highest mountain ranges of the province.
“The cold weather poses a real threat to vulnerable livestock and crops across large parts of the province. We urge people, especially in the rural areas, to remain indoors as much as possible. In the City, the risk of continued flooding in low-lying areas continues,” said Bredell.
Safety and security mayoral committee member JP Smith said DRM teams concluded about 300 assessments of localised flooding in informal settlements since the last storm, and the teams have worked non-stop to assist where they can, in collaboration with Informal Settlement Management and Roads and Stormwater teams.
Any weather-related emergencies can be directed to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre, by dialling 021 480 7700 from a cellphone or 107 from a landline.