Flood watch, warning issued for Gauteng, North West, and Free State
Heavy rain could lead to localised flash flooding in parts of South Africa.
Wet weather is set to bring relief to drought-stricken regions. Image: iStock
The possibility of flooding in Gauteng resulted in warnings being issued by the SA Weather Service (SAWS), some of which have been extended to Thursday and Friday.
Watch:05/12/2019 01h00 TO:06/12/2019 11h00 Flooding- Persistent rainfall may result in road flooding in places over Gauteng today(Thursday) and tomorrow morning(Friday).
— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) December 5, 2019
These advisories have now spread to the North West and Free State, with the website saying on Thursday morning that heavy rain could lead to localised flash flooding over the central and eastern parts of the North West and northern parts of the Free State until Thursday evening.
Warning:05/12/2019 09h00 TO:05/12/2019 23h00 Heavy rain- leading to localized flash flooding is possible over the central and eastern parts of the North West Province today(05/12/2019).
— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) December 5, 2019
Watch:05/12/2019 04h00 TO:05/12/2019 23h00 Heavy rain- leading to localized flooding expected over the northern parts of the Free State today(05/12/2019)..
— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) December 5, 2019
The warning for Gauteng applies for Thursday and Friday morning as well, with persistent rainfall continuing throughout the province.
Yesterday’s warning pointed to four flooding ‘hotspots’, namely Alexandra, Fourways, the Johannesburg CBD, and the M1 and N3 highways, Fourways Review reported.
⚠️ ALERT: The SA Weather Service has issued a watch for the POSSIBILITY OF FLOODING
🛑POTENTIAL THREATS:
•ROAD FLOODING📍AREA: All of Gauteng
📆DATE: 5 December 2019 – 6 December 2019
⏰TIME: Whole of Thursday until 9am on Friday morning
— Gauteng Weather (@tWeatherSA) December 5, 2019
The wet weather brings a welcome relief after a nearly two week-long heatwave, and farmers in drought-stricken Free State and North West provinces are set to benefit greatly from persistent rainfall.
African Farmers Association of South Africa (Afasa) chairperson Neo Masithela said the drought was spreading countrywide and could not be viewed as “a looming disaster” because South Africa was “already living in a disaster”.
Amid lack of a significant rainfall, the country was looking at a possibility of “water shedding” should consumers fail to stick to restrictions.
(Compiled by Nica Schreuder. Additional reporting by Brian Sokutu)
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