Floods at coast, snow in interior
2006-08-02 19:01
Johannesburg - South Africa battled severe weather on Wednesday, with floods along the Garden Route and snow in the interior including Gauteng.
Along the Garden Route from Mossel Bay to Plettenberg Bay, heavy rains from a cold front flooded the region on Monday. By late on Wednesday it was still raining.
Across the region, communities were evacuated, roads were closed and dams overflowed.
The George airport closed on Tuesday afternoon, opening after 24 disrupted flights for the first flight to land at 13:00 on Wednesday.
Spoornet said at least five passenger trains between Johannesburg and Cape Town were delayed by floods and snow by up to 14 hours, waiting for safe passage.
They included two Trans Karoo trains and the Premier Classe.
The N2 through Knysna was due to be closed in the Goukamma area at 20:00 on Wednesday due to flood damage, opening again on Thursday morning.
Earlier the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said the Knysna River was flooded, houses near it were under water and powerlines had fallen from a bridge into the river.
The NSRI rescued four people from the top floor of a flooded house there.
In George, four people - two of them children - ied when their vehicle was swept off a collapsed bridge at Conville on Tuesday night.
Their bodies were found on Wednesday, said police.
George municipal manager Cecil Africa said the town had more than 300mm of rain since Monday.
Mossel Bay - 270mm
In Mossel Bay, acting municipal manager Herman Botha said 270mm of rain had been measured since Monday.
Between 200 and 300 people were evacuated from the informal township in Little Brak River. At Great Brak River houses were badly damaged and water supplies were disrupted.
"We have massive damage to infrastructure, especially to roads, underground cables and pipelines," said Botha.
In Plettenberg Bay, Bitou Municipality acting municipal manager Thomas Nqolo said roads were closed and the Keurbooms and Bitou rivers were coming down strongly, raising fears of more flooding at high tide at 21:00.
Nqolo said there were evacuations at De Vlugt, the Roodefontein Dam was overflowing, and residents downriver were warned of possible flooding.
The NSRI said it was asked to assist with possible evacuations there.
Front-end loader
NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon said the NSRI had rescued all 10 people stranded on a 5.5-ton truck in the Bitou River.
They had to use a front-end loader to get to the truck.
The SA Weather Service said George received 230.1mm of rain between 08:00 on Tuesday and 08:00 on Wednesday and another 20.8mm by mid-afternoon.
Other rainfall measurements in the 24 hours to 08:00 on Wednesday were: Knysna 168.6mm; Mossel Bay 90.8mm; and Plettenberg Bay 38.6mm.
Snow
Snow was reported in many parts of the interior.
In the Eastern Cape Drakensberg, Tiffendell Ski Resort's Martin den Heyer said it had snowed since Tuesday lunchtime and there was about 30cm of snow.
"It's snowing heavily."
It snowed in Gauteng for the first time in at least eight years, said Weather SA.
"We've got confirmed reports of light snowfalls in Sandton," said forecaster Jacqueline Riet.
"There is snow in Westonaria, Carletonville and Soweto and Sandton.
"It's just very little, very isolated flakes here and there."
Employees around Morningside reported very light falls of snow at 10:00.
"It was tiny little white flakes... this was definitely dry snow," said Ashish Singh, who lived in Canada for six years where it snows heavily.
'A little uncommon'
"Snow over Gauteng seems to occur once every eight to 10 years," said forecaster Kevin Rae.
He said it was "a little uncommon".
Forecaster Michael Nethavhani, in the Free State, said there were light snowfalls currently over central, southern and the eastern parts of the Free State.
He said snow fell in Bloemfontein, Bethlehem in the east and on the border between the Free State and the Eastern Cape.
Temperatures were between zero and 1 degree C.
Rae said there was "a range of extreme conditions on the go at the moment".
Weather SA said very cold conditions were expected on Thursday over Gauteng highveld, Mpumalanga highveld, the extreme south of the North West, Free State, Lesotho, the south east of the Northern Cape, northern parts of the Eastern Cape and the KwaZulu-Natal interior.
Snow was expected to continue until early on Thursday over the eastern high grounds of the Free State, Lesotho and southern Drakensberg.
Gale force winds were expected between Cape St Francis and Richards Bay with very rough seas between Cape Agulhas and Port Alfred.
- SAPA