By Lebone Rodah Mosiah
Potentially life-threatening flooding is expected along parts of KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday and Friday as severe thunderstorms, damaging winds and bitterly cold conditions hit several other regions.
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) issued an Orange Level 6 warning for disruptive rain along the KZN south coast and adjacent interior, where flooding of roads and formal and informal settlements could endanger lives, displace communities and cause losses of livestock and livelihoods. The warning remains in force until Friday.
A Yellow Level 4 disruptive-rain warning was also in place across eastern and southern KZN until Friday.
A separate Yellow Level 4 warning for severe thunderstorms covered the eastern and northern Free State, north-western KZN and the southern Highveld of Mpumalanga on Thursday.
SAWS said those storms could bring heavy downpours, damaging winds, excessive lightning and hail, with localised flooding and the potential for injuries and danger to life.
The southern and extreme eastern parts of the Eastern Cape were under a Yellow Level 2 warning for disruptive rain, with localised flooding of settlements, roads and low-lying bridges possible until Friday. Power and communications could also be disrupted.
A Yellow Level 2 warning for damaging winds covered southern parts of the Northern Cape and northern parts of the Western Cape, where difficult driving conditions, damage to settlements and interruptions to power and communications were possible.
SAWS also warned of extremely high fire danger over the western Bushveld of Limpopo.
Very cold, wet and windy conditions were expected across a broad swathe of the country, including south-western KwaZulu-Natal, southern parts of the Northern Cape, the Eastern Cape, the eastern and southern Free State and the Cape Winelands, Central Karoo and Little Karoo districts of the Western Cape.
Those conditions were expected to continue until Friday, with light snowfall possible over high-lying parts of the Western Cape.
The weather service’s extended outlook for Friday and Saturday showed unsettled conditions continuing, with isolated to scattered showers and thundershowers forecast and widespread rain expected in the south-east.
In KZN, heavy rain was already being reported on Thursday morning.
Transport and Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma said the Road Traffic Inspectorate had reported heavy rain and thunderstorms around Estcourt and along the N3.
“In this regard, we request motorists to exercise extra caution — reduce speed and keep the following distance.”
The KZN Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs activated its Disaster Joint Operations Centre, with municipalities, emergency services, law enforcement agencies and other response teams placed on alert.
MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi said municipalities had been instructed to prepare safe spaces if residents needed to be moved from areas threatened by flooding.
“We are encouraging communities to take safety measures, as these rains pose a serious threat to life. All municipalities have been activated to open safe spaces,” Buthelezi said.
“Our disaster teams will closely monitor the situation in the next two days and we urge communities to comply with any safety measures that may have to be implemented.”
He told motorists to avoid unnecessary travel, warning that some roads could be closed if flooding worsened.
In eThekwini, the Disaster Management Centre, Fire and Emergency Services, Metro Police and other frontline units were placed on high alert, with teams monitoring waterways, flood-prone communities, roads and vulnerable infrastructure.
The municipality said the severe weather – which had brought a severe hailstorm just two days earlier — was being driven by a combination of a strong ridging high-pressure system, a coastal low-pressure system and a cut-off low over the interior.
