Heavy rainfall, rough seas, expected for Cape Town this weekend

The SA Weather Service has issued a warning for Level 4 disruptive rainfall and Level 5 for damaging waves from Friday evening , into Saturday. These conditions could lead to localized flooding, and possible damage to property and infrastructure. According to the weather service, an 80% chance of rain is forecast for Friday, with thunderstorms expected on Saturday.

Rainfall and alert chart for today, 28 July 2023. Please keep a lookout for updates of the weekend weather on our social media pages, don't forget to like and share. pic.twitter.com/2VXBZ8eDfJ

— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) July 28, 2023

The City of Cape Town says its teams will be on standby to respond to any weather-related impacts.

The City’s Disaster Risk Management’s Charlotte Powell shared tips on mitigating flooding.

‘’Clearing out drainage systems; Raising the floor level of a structure so that it is higher than the natural ground level; Making sandbags; Digging trenches around the house to divert water away; Reporting blocked drains, intakes and illegal dumping – illegal dumping in the stormwater canals and sewers makes flooding worse; Fix leaking roofs.’’

PICTURE: Pixabay

The Western Cape’s Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC, Anton Bredell, said it is putting measures in place to deal with what is predicted to be a very cold weekend in the province.

‘’The Department of Water and Sanitation assured us that their offices are on high alert to monitor the already full dams in the province, and they, together with SA Weather Services will coordinate closely with our various district disaster management centres.’’

Head of Provincial Disaster Management Centre, Colin Deiner,  advised residents to postpone outdoor activities planned for this weekend.

‘’Measures from the Centre includes the reviewing of all hiking trails in the province, with the objective to close those which are deemed too risky considering the expected weather conditions.

‘’We are also advising people to rather postpone plans to do coastal angling or going out on small boats this weekend. Waves of between 5m and 8m are predicted along the southern coastline, and waves of between 4m and 6m are expected along the west coast. This, together with strong to gale-force southerly to south-westerly winds, means our small harbours can expect to face the full brunt of the stormy weather.’’

Bredell warned that snowfall over high lying areas could lead to the closure of mountain passes, and this could be disruptive in terms of traffic.

“We are asking the public to rather spend this weekend indoors. In this manner we can reserve our rescue services for serious emergencies when they do occur,’’ said Anton Bredell, Western Cape’s Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC.

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) appealed to water lovers to be aware of rough sea conditions and the impact of forecast weather affecting the coastline and inland.

‘’Boaters and commercial seafarers should not launch in adverse weather conditions unless absolutely necessary and wear life jackets when your vessel is underway or during commercial operations at sea. Shoreline anglers and coastal hikers should be aware of the daily 2 high tides and 2 low tides and be cautious along the shoreline,’’ said Craig Lambinon, NSRI spokesperson.

‘’Bathers, surfers, paddlers, sail boarders, and beachgoers should be cautious of rough seas, strong winds, and strong rip currents during adverse weather-affected sea conditions and prepare accordingly without taking risks.’’

‘’Do not attempt to cross through rivers and roadways affected by flooding or cross over bridges swamped by flood waters. We are appealing to the public to monitor SAWS weather updates and their predicted impact.’’

 

Done by: Alungile Njemla; Mitchum George