Cape Town - Motorists have been advised to proceed with caution travelling along Hospital Bend, with mud and debris seen moving onto the roadway from the mountain as the latest cold front battered the province.
The City said traffic services were assisting motorists on Hospital Bend with lane closures. Anzio Road onto hospital bend is closed due to flooding.
Disaster Risk Management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said the cold front forecast has now well and truly set in across the metropole, with heavy rainfall and strong winds.
“At this stage, no major incidents have been reported to the Disaster Risk Management Centre. However, all services remain on standby to deal with any impact brought on by the adverse weather conditions,” Powell said.
Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning spokesperson James-Brent Styan said weather conditions in the province had taken a turn for the worse this afternoon, as predicted by the SA Weather Service.
“Very strong gale-force winds have started to set in across south-western parts of the province, particularly the City of Cape Town. Lots of rainfall within the metro area is also predicted.
“It will make conditions very difficult this afternoon, as well as this evening. We want to urge people travelling to be very careful.”
The City on Wednesday said the weather bureau had issued a warning of disruptive rainfall between midday and 11pm and damaging winds from 9am until 11pm.
While the front is forecast to be considerably shorter than the multiple days of inclement weather experienced last week, heavy rainfall over short periods could result in localised flooding.
Eskom said the power utility was expecting an increase in faults in greater Cape Town and parts of the Western Cape due to the inclement weather.
“The inclement weather has put the network at risk and can affect the electricity supply of customers in some areas, potentially leaving some customers with prolonged periods without electricity. Unfortunately, these stormy conditions also affect the restoration efforts of technical teams out in the field.
Cape Times