Mop up operations are underway across the Cape provinces following torrential downpours and gale winds.
Meanwhile, the SA Weather Service (Saws) has issued a Yellow Level 4 strong damaging winds and waves along the coast between Port Edward and Durban today.
IOL reported that wind speeds reached up to 60km/h with the severe weather wreaking havoc across various areas, resulting in flooding, property damage, road closures and power outages.
Several roads in the Western Cape were closed including the N2 in Overberg in Bot River where a section of the pavement was washed away when the river banks burst, causing high levels of water to flow over the road in the early hours on Monday morning.
The SA National Roads Agency, said in the Cape Winelands District, in De Doorns, the N1 section 3 was closed between Sandhills and Orchard intersections, after heavy rains continued to fall.
Our house was devastated by the floods in Stanford yesterday. We were desperate to get out, but the car got swept in a flash flood. If we hadn’t crashed into that tree, we may not have survived.
— Kevin McCallum (@KevinMcCallum) September 26, 2023
Brave, incredible Stanford people pulled us out of the car. They saved our lives. pic.twitter.com/VVNMUNrbym
Cape Town - Baden Powell Drive: #Flooding south of the N2 Highway #CapeStorm pic.twitter.com/Fm2DhvRgyV
— TrafficSA (@TrafficSA) September 26, 2023
Western Cape - Major Route Closures as at 05:30 Tuesday 26 September #CapeStorm pic.twitter.com/pZPMJ9Gqro
— TrafficSA (@TrafficSA) September 26, 2023
Sanral project manager, Keenan Walbrugh, appealed to road users to proceed with absolute caution in these extremely wet road conditions and to avoid travelling in the affected areas.
"Once the water levels subside, an engineering assessment of the damage can be done, in order to inform the road repair process and time lines," he said.
Saws has also issued an Orange Level 6 warning for damaging waves in the Eastern Cape.
“A cut-off low system moves over the province and is combined with a high pressure ridging in ahead of it, associated with a tight pressure gradient and gale force winds, with high seas,” the forecaster said.
“The swell direction will be from the south to the south-west. This makes the system different from the one before where the swell was coming from the south-west. The bays are expected to be not to protected during this system.”
IOL