The South African Weather Service (Saws) has issued several weather warnings for heavy rains, hail and thundershowers for provinces across the country from Sunday.
The forecaster issued an Orange Level 6 warning for disruptive rain between Port Alfred and Mtunzini until Monday.
This could have a major impact, leading to flooded roads and settlements, damage to infrastructure and mud-based houses as well as major disruption of traffic flows due to roads being flooded or closed.
"A Yellow Warning Level 4 warning for severe thunderstorms, hail and wind has been predicted for most parts of KwaZulu-Natal, extreme parts of Mpumalanga and the extreme eastern parts of the Free State. This could lead to damage to infrastructure due to hail and win," the forecaster said.
A Yellow Level 4 warning for disruptive rain has also been predicted for the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, Kouga, Sundays River Valley, Makana and Mdlambe, as well as Ngqushwa Local Municipality until Monday, but likely to persist until Tuesday.
Saws said severe thunderstorms are expected over the extreme north-eastern parts of KZN, eastern Free State, eastern North West Province, Gauteng and the Highveld of Mpumalanga as well as extreme south-western parts of Limpopo which may lead to localised damage to infrastructure, settlements, vehicles, livelihood and livestock until Monday.
Meanwhile, a Yellow Level 2 warning has been issued over the Eastern Cape until Monday.
Saws said the wet weather is due to a cut off low pressure system moving across the country.
To ensure public safety, residents are urged to:
- Avoid crossing flooded walkways or roads
- Exercise extreme caution while driving, as roads may become slippery
- Stay updated on weather and road conditions through reliable sources
IOL News