Cape Town - While no major incidents have been reported to the provincial disaster management centre as a result of the latest winter storm, officials have cautioned residents to stay indoors as conditions remain wet and cold.
The South African Weather Service on Sunday warned of a cold front expected to make landfall in the Western Cape with widespread rainfall of between 20mm and 65mm which could result in flooding of informal settlements, low-lying bridges and roads.
“We want to urge the public to remain indoors as much as possible over the next few days and to be aware of the conditions when travelling around outdoors.
While staying indoors, we encourage good ventilation as much is reasonably possible given the current third Covid wave.
Disaster and emergency responders remain on standby across the province,” said Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell.
The cold and wet weather is predicted to continue throughout the week with two further cold fronts expected on Thursday and Saturday.
With this in mind, it is not all doom and gloom as dams continue to fill up, the department added.
The latest average dam level for dams in the Western Cape is 55% (2020: 44%) while the latest average level for dams providing water to the City of Cape Town is 75.2% (2020: 62.5%).
“The major dams providing water to the City of Cape Town continue to fill up and will certainly get further relief following this week’s rainfall. We continue to urge people to use water responsibly,” said Bredell.
Members of the public can contact the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre on 107 from a landline or 021 480 7700 from a cellphone to report any incidents related to the inclement weather.
Cape Times