Disaster management on alert as Western Cape braces for rain and wind battering

Gift of the Givers teams bring in additional resources in preparedness of the inclement weather to hit the Western Cape. (Photo: supplied)

By Suné Payne

27 Oct 2024

Strong, damaging winds and disruptive rain are on the cards for parts of the Western Cape over the next 48 hours. As the disruptive weather prepares to make landfall, disaster management teams are already on standby.

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued warnings for parts of the Western Cape of disruptive rain which might lead to localised flooding.

Forecaster Lehlohonolo Thobela told Daily Maverick this was expected in areas over the southwestern parts of the province, except for the City of Cape Town.

In most parts of the central and western areas “we expect some heavy downpours that might lead to localised flooding in the eastern parts”, he said on Sunday.

Several weather warnings have been issued in the province, including:

A cut-off low is expected to bring windy and cooler conditions with scattered to widespread showers and thunderstorms over the southern parts of the Western Cape on Sunday into Monday. The weather service warned that the accumulation of 50mm to 80mm of rain is expected over the Cape Winelands and the Overberg Districts with 90mm to 120mm over mountainous regions.

“The wind together with the rainfall may affect some transport routes due to fallen trees,” the latest weather update reads. Severe thunderstorms were also expected.

Thobela said that on Monday “we’re expecting most of the showers and thunder showers to be over the central and the southern parts [with] sheets of showers and rain mainly along the coastal regions in the south coast, as well as the Western Cape province”.

The weather service sent out a warning for impacts such as flooding of roads and formal and informal settlements which may lead to damage to property and infrastructure and the displacement of vulnerable communities.

Mudslides and rockfalls were also possible, while thunder showers with hail could lead to further disruptions on major roads over the western parts.

Preparations under way

Municipalities, disaster management and humanitarian organisations are already on alert for the expected weather.

Gift of the Givers teams bring in additional resources in preparation for the inclement weather to hit the Western Cape. (Photo: Gift of the Givers)

Humanitarian relief organisation Gift of the Givers has brought in additional resources in preparation.

City of Cape Town Disaster Risk Management Centre Management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said the City’s services were on standby to deal with impacts from the forecast. The weather warning for the city has since been downgraded.

The Swartland Municipality – which experienced severe flooding in Riverlands, Malmesbury – told residents on its WhatsApp channel to ensure yards and gutters are cleared “to prevent accidental flooding”.

Local municipalities along the affected trajectory have all issued advisories from the weather service in a bid to help residents.

Not only the Western Cape

It is not only the Western Cape that will be hit by inclement weather.

“The central parts are also expecting some damaging winds covering the areas over the northern parts of the Eastern Cape, the Free State, Gauteng and parts of the central and the eastern parts of North West,” Thobela said.

They were expecting “damaging winds of a yellow level” with a high likelihood of “minor impacts of disruptions into infrastructure”.

Storms not new

The impending storm follows flooding in the Eastern Cape. Daily Maverick journalist Estelle Ellis reported that about three people had died in the flooding in Nelson Mandela Bay on 21 October. So far, 3,000 people have been displaced.

Severe weather since the start of the year in the Western Cape has included:

In February, strong winds caused electricity pylons to fall, causing power outages in several towns in the province, as well as the Northern Cape. Daily Maverick visited Ladismith, where residents were without power for almost two weeks while the power lines were being repaired.

In June, heavy rain brought flooding, road collapses and evacuations in the Cederberg and Garden Route.

In July, damaging weather – including gale-force winds and heavy downpours – damaged thousands of formal and informal dwellings. DM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REeWvTRUpMk

Categories:

Tags:

DM is much better if you are signed in...

South Africa

Preparations under way

Not only the Western Cape

Storms not new