Govt declares national disaster as severe storms, floods and snow batter several provinces
Authorities escalated the response after days of flooding, storm damage and snowfall left communities cut off and critical services disrupted.
- On Saturday night, the Department of Cooperative Governance declared a national disaster following days of torrential rainfall, flooding, and snowfall battering six provinces since May 4.
- Bongani Elias Sithole, head of the National Disaster Management Centre, classified the weather as a national disaster after assessing the "magnitude and severity" of the system that struck from May 4.
- Floods have left 89,000 Western Cape pupils at risk of missing 5 days of meals, while communities across six provinces remain submerged with infrastructure collapse disrupting critical services.
- Authorities must now implement a "multisectoral prevention, mitigation, relief and rehabilitation plan" requiring regular progress reports to coordinate response efforts among state departments, municipalities, and NGOs.
- The South African Weather Service warned that heavy rain and damaging winds are expected to persist in parts of the Western Cape through Tuesday, though rescue teams continue mop-up operations.
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Table Mountain National Park closes areas amid severe storms
Table Mountain National Park has issued an urgent safety alert as severe weather continues to affect Cape Town and surrounding areas. Park officials announced temporary closures across multiple sites and hiking trails due to dangerous weather conditions, including heavy rainfall, strong winds, flooding, and fallen trees. The park shared the update earlier today, warning visitors to avoid unnecessary travel and hiking in affected areas. Officials…
Govt declares national disaster as severe storms, floods and snow batter several provinces
After days of deadly flooding, collapsing infrastructure and widespread devastation across several provinces, the SA government has officially declared the country’s severe weather a national disaster as authorities scramble to contain the escalating humanitarian emergency.
Western Cape battles storm as govt declares a national disaster
The National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) has declared the recent extreme weather, spanning heavy rainfall, flooding, thunderstorms, damaging winds and snowfall in several provinces, including the Western Cape, North West, Free State, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Mpumalanga, a national disaster.
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