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Level 2 warning: Disruptive rain to continue in Gauteng
Government on Monday declared a national state of disaster to enable an intensive, coordinated response to the impact of floods.
Two destroyed houses due to the sinkhole that formed on Clifton road in Lyttelton due to recent rains, 14 February 2023. Picture: Neil McCartney / The Citizen
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued weather warnings across several provinces, with most parts of the country expected to experience disruptive.
A yellow level 2 warning for disruptive rainfall has been issued over the central parts of North-West, Free State and southern Gauteng on Wednesday.
An orange level 5 warning for disruptive rainfall has also been issued in the eastern parts of
North-West and Free State.
In the eastern parts of the Eastern Cape, a yellow level 2 warning for severe thunderstorms has been issued.
National state of disaster
Government on Monday declared a national state of disaster to enable an intensive, coordinated response to the impact of floods that are affecting Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the Northern Cape and North West.
According to Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, the National Disaster Management Centre has, in terms of Section 23 of the Disaster Management Act, classified the impact of current, above-normal rainfall in various parts of the country – with Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape as the most affected – as a national disaster.
Homes have been flooded and vehicles swept away by floodwaters and overflowing dams and sewerage facilities, to the loss of basic infrastructure and damage to roads, bridges and a Limpopo hospital, said Magwenya.
READ MORE: Government declares national state of disaster over widespread floods
In agriculture, farmers have suffered crop and livestock losses.
Wednesday’s weather forecast
Gauteng: Cloudy and warm weather, with scattered showers and thundershowers but widespread in southwest. The expected UVB sunburn index: High.
Mpumalanga: Cloudy and warm weather, with scattered showers and rain.
Limpopo: Cloudy and warm weather, with scattered showers and rain but widespread in the west.
North West: Cloudy and warm, with widespread showers and thundershowers but partly cloudy with scattered in the west.
Free State: Cloudy with morning fog patches in the extreme east, otherwise partly cloudy and warm, with scattered showers and thundershowers but widespread over the central and the eastern parts. It will be
isolated in the west.
ALSO READ: When it rains, it pours: Citizens urged to stay safe amid devastating floods
Northern Cape: Fine and hot to very hot in the west otherwise partly cloudy with isolated showers and thundershowers. The wind along the coast will be fresh south-westerly.
Western Cape: Cloudy and cool weather, with rain over the central and southern parts from mid-morning, spreading to the north-eastern interior by evening.
It will be fine and hot in the west but warm in the south-west where it will be partly cloudy at first.
The wind along the coast will be fresh south-easterly in the south but strong south to south-easterly in the west and south-west. The expected UVB sunburn index: Very High.
Western half of the Eastern Cape: Partly cloudy and warm with isolated showers and thundershowers,
but cloudy and cool with scattered showers and rain in the south.
The wind along the coast will be Light to moderate south westerly in places in the morning, otherwise south easterly.
Eastern half of the Eastern Cape: Morning fog patches in places south of the escarpment, otherwise
partly cloudy and warm, becoming cloudy with scattered showers and thundershowers from the afternoon.
The wind along the coast will be Light to moderate south westerly, becoming south easterly from the south in the afternoon.
ALSO READ: Level 5 warning: Heavy rain to continue in parts of Limpopo and Mpumalanga
KwaZulu-Natal: Partly cloudy and warm but hot in places in the north-east. It will become cloudy in the afternoon with scattered showers and thundershowers but isolated in the north-east. The wind along the coast will be fresh easterly to north-easterly. The expected UVB sunburn index: High.
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