Cape Town – The Western Cape government has been warned of possible severe weather over the coming long weekend.
The SA Weather Service (Saws) issued a weather alert for this weekend warning of scattered to widespread showers, and thundershowers expected over the Northern Cape and Western Cape.
“The bulk of these storms will dominate over the western parts from late Friday morning, moving eastwards to the central and eastern parts during the afternoon and evening.
“Heavy downpours (20-30 mm/h), strong and gusty winds (50-60 km/h, gusting 70-80 km/h), excessive lightning and large amounts of small hail (1-2 cm in diameter) are possible,” the Saws said.
For Saturday, the service said that similar weather is to be expected for most of the day.
"The bulk of these storms are expected over the central and southern parts of the province. Heavy downpours (20-30 mm/h), strong and gusty winds (50-60 km/h, gusting 70-80 km/h), excessive lightning and large amounts of small hail (1-2 cm in diameter) are possible.“
Anton Bredell, the MEC of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, said that while the mopping-up operations following the severe weather earlier this week were progressing well in all the affected municipalities, there is concern over the coming weekend.
“We are approaching the current severe weather in the province with the same approach as our Winter Preparedness Strategy,” said Bredell.
“I want to thank all non-government and volunteer organisations for their significant support and assistance, especially in vulnerable communities,” Bredell added.
He said the focus now shifts to the next bout of severe weather expected to affect the province from Friday into the weekend.
“As part of our Winter Preparedness Plan, we have identified areas at risk of flooding and, together with local governments, are ensuring that contingency plans are in place.
“This includes making sure stormwater drains are cleared, low-water river crossings are monitored, and facilities for vulnerable people are prepared and secured.”
Provincial Disaster Management has also put aerial and ground-support resources on standby should they be needed.
Premier Alan Winde said he has full confidence in the province’s disaster management teams but he implored “communities in affected regions to take the necessary precautions as this inclement weather arrives”.
“We are also concerned that with the heightened levels of load shedding and the possible severe weather the situation could be further exacerbated.
“I will be holding an extended cabinet meeting tomorrow (Thursday) to meet with municipalities across the province to assess plans and preparedness for this long weekend but also the festive season as a whole,” the premier said.
He said they were putting additional standby resources in place to respond “at a time when we are gearing up for the start of the festive season and are expecting heightened traffic volumes as people leave from and arrive in our province”.
The premier has appealed to all road users to exercise even greater caution when travelling.
“I urge residents not to take unnecessary risks and for road users to behave responsibly. Should it be required that our provincial traffic redirect traffic to alternative routes, we appeal to all road users to exercise extreme caution and co-operate with our law enforcement officers,” Winde said.
The provincial government would be monitoring the situation over the long weekend and would respond as required.
* Additional reporting by Kristin Engel.