The Western Cape has been battered by a cold front that hit the province on Sunday, bringing with it heavy rain and snow. Image: Table Mountain Cableway/X
Extraordinary video of waterfall on Table Mountain – WATCH
The Western Cape has been battered by a cold front that hit the province on Sunday, bringing with it heavy rain and snow.
The Western Cape has been battered by a cold front that hit the province on Sunday, bringing with it heavy rain and snow. Image: Table Mountain Cableway/X
The Western Cape has been battered by a cold front that hit the province on Sunday, bringing with it heavy rain and snow.
As reported by The South African website, dam levels in the area jumped over 6% in just 24 hours.
High winds, heavy rain
Schools started in the country on Tuesday and motorists faced lengthy delays in traffic as roads were both closed – and flooded.
In addition, the strong winds and heavy rains damaged buildings and left thousands of homeless, as weather services warned that more bad weather was forecast for the remainder of the week.
The Western Cape government said 82 schools were damaged, forcing five to remain closed on Tuesday. In some cases, wind gusts blew away roof sheeting.
Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis took to social media platform X to post an extraordinary video of a waterfall on Table Mountain that was being blown UPWARDS due to the wind.
Fallen trees
Over the weekend, almost 4 000 people were left homeless as strong winds destroyed about 1 000 homes and other structures in the impoverished township of Khayelitsha.
Localised flooding, fallen trees, electricity outages and road closures were reported across the province, authorities said.
The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) said 18 crew members of a cargo ship were rescued on Monday after they were forced to abandon their vessel as it listed severely in the rough seas.
The seafarers, all Filipino nationals, were found in a life raft off South Africa’s Atlantic coast and recovered by two nearby cargo vessels, it said.
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) said more “disruptive rain leading to flooding and possible mudslides” was expected to hit the province on Wednesday and continue on Thursday.