Cape Town - The South African Weather Service (Saws) has issued a yellow level two warning for severe thunderstorms over the Western Cape and Namaqua overnight.
Torrential rains and gale force winds recently caused havoc across the Western Cape, with floods reported in various areas. At least three people were killed.
Saws said a cut-off low was expected to result in showers and thundershowers from Tuesday afternoon until Wednesday.
“These thunderstorms may become severe over the West Coast, central Cape Winelands and Southern Central Karoo Districts in Western Cape today and overnight, and over the western parts of Namakwa in Northern Cape until tomorrow morning.”
“Quick downpours of 20-35 mm, excessive lightning and large amounts of small hail are possible,” the weather warning reads.
Meanwhile, due to heavy rainfall experienced throughout the province in the past three weeks, the Western Cape storage dams have seen an increase.
The Western Cape Water Supply System (WCWSS) has seen a significant increase, edging towards 100% compared with last year’s 72.63% for the same period.
Total storage for all Department of Water and Sanitation-monitored dams in the province is at 85% compared with 56.83% at the same time last year.
The Gouritz River Catchment which covers the Little and Central Karoo and the Coastal belt of the Southern Cape is sitting at 68.85%.
The Olifants/Doorn River Catchment on the West Coast is currently at 98.94%, a notable increase compared with 24.27% last year.
The Theewaterskloof Dam, the largest dam in the province, has hit 100%.
“The Provincial Disaster Management Centre cites that the Western Cape flooding was not without devastation as several regions have been affected by flooding, with the worst affected areas being Breede Valley and some informal settlements in the City of Cape Town.
“Regrettably three people are reported to have lost their lives as a result of the impact of heavy rains in the past few weeks. People are advised to stay away from the floodplains,” the department said.
Besides localised flooding near the construction site of the Clanwilliam Dam wall, there are no immediate reports of DWS infrastructure damage.
There were no reported incidents of water pollution associated with the heavy rainfall.
Cape Times