Western Cape battles storm as govt declares a national disaster

Image credit: David Van der brock on Unsplash

The NDMC said that classifying this a national disaster will allow the government to intensify coordination and strengthen ongoing response and recovery efforts across all spheres of government.

WC hit with Orange Level 8

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) issued an Orange Level 8 weather warning for disruptive rainfall in the Western Cape.

In a statement, the Western Cape government said it has strengthened its disaster readiness measures in light of the weather warnings.

“The Provincial Disaster Management Centre has activated coordination mechanisms across all districts and in the City of Cape Town, with all disaster management centres placed on high alert,” it said.

The adverse weather, according to the weather service, is expected to lead to the flooding of roads, bridges and formal and informal settlements, mudslides and danger to life due to fast-flowing rivers.

These are expected over the mountainous regions of the Drakenstein, Stellenbosch, the western parts of the Theewaterskloof, City of Cape Town, Breede Valley and Witzenberg local municipalities of the Western Cape until Tuesday.

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Precautionary measures

Meanwhile, SAWS has also issued an Orange Level 6 warning for disruptive rainfall leading to the flooding of roads, low-lying bridges, and formal as well as informal settlements expected over the southern West Coast and western parts of the Overberg Districts of the Western Cape until Tuesday.

As a precautionary measure, the Western Cape Department of Education has decided to close several schools in the Cape Winelands, Eden, and Central Karoo on Monday.

In addition, an Orange Level 6 warning for damaging winds and waves, leading to danger to navigation at sea and damage to coastal infrastructure, is expected along the coast between Lambert's Bay and Cannon Rocks until Tuesday.

Also, an Orange Level 5 for damaging interior winds has been issued for the central parts of the Western Cape and the northern and central parts of the Eastern Cape, but is expected in the Western Cape until Tuesday.

The following warnings were also issued by the SAWS:

• Yellow Level 4 warning: Damaging winds and waves leading to danger to navigation at sea are expected along the coast between Alexander Bay and Lambert's Bay until Tuesday.

• Yellow Level 2 warning: Disruptive rainfall leading to localised flooding of low-lying bridges, and formal as well as informal settlements are expected over the northern parts of the West Coast, eastern parts of the Cape Winelands and Overberg Districts of the Western Cape until Tuesday.

• Yellow Level 2 warning: Damaging winds leading to localised damage of informal settlements, falling trees and localised problems for high-sided vehicles on prone routes are expected in places in the Western Cape, southern part of the Eastern Cape, interior of the KwaZulu-Natal, southern and eastern parts of the Free State, as well as the central and southern part of the Northern Cape on Sunday but expected in the Western Cape until Tuesday.

• Yellow Level 2 warning: Disruptive snowfall leading to loss of vulnerable livestock, disruption of traffic due to icy roads and possible closure of mountain passes are expected over the Karoo Hoogland municipality of the Northern Cape and in places over the Cape Winelands District of the Western Cape, as well as the northern part of the Eastern Cape until Monday.

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Garden Route National Park

Last week, the South African National Parks (SANParks) said teams and stakeholders were working tirelessly to restore access to the Garden Route National Park after persistent rainfall caused widespread damage to infrastructure.

In the Wilderness Section, several roads remain eroded and inaccessible, while mudslides and fallen trees continue to obstruct access routes.

Water levels are subsiding but remain high in parts of Swartvlei. Recreational activities and hiking trails remain closed. Accommodation facilities have not been affected, and no cancellations have been reported.

The Knysna Section recorded extreme rainfall of 378mm, resulting in significant infrastructure challenges. Roads, including Komsepad and Kranshoek, remain blocked by fallen trees and require extensive clearing operations.