Joburgers should stop complaining about our wet weather. That’s the message from weather experts as other parts of the country are gripped by sizzling heatwaves and widespread floods.
A sudden heatwave has hit Cape Town, leaving residents sweltering in temperatures of over 40ºC in some areas and the Cape Town municipality recommending that people stay indoors as much as possible until the wave has passed.
The hottest part of the Western Cape today was expected to be Redelinghuys with a sweltering 45ºC, and Vredendal and Paarl expected to be 43ºC.
Niek Kogelenberg, a forecaster at the Cape Town Airport weather office, said: “The minimum in Cape Town last night was 25ºC. But if you were inside, it would have been far, far hotter. If you turned off the air conditioner you were dead!”
On the other side of the meteorological coin, Durbanites have been forced to wade through deep water as multiple downpours have caused flooding throughout KwaZulu-Natal, leaving hundreds in need of shelter and food, homes with bridges damaged and roads submerged.
Parts of Newcastle, Ladysmith, Nquthu and Nkandla in northern KZN and Harding on the south coast have all been flooded, Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs spokesman Vernon Mchunu said this morning.
More rain was expected in coming days, with flash floods becoming a possibility as the weather is only expected to clear after Sunday.
In Newcastle yesterday, the Ncandu River burst its banks, putting more than half the town under water, leaving residents and business owners desperately trying to salvage what they could.
Emergency rescue services were on high alert as the floods caused havoc in the northern KwaZulu-Natal town. Heavy rains in Ladysmith, about 100km away, left the two main roads submerged and 50 houses flooded.
No fatalities have been reported, but Newcastle’s municipal manager, Kebone Masange, said officials were still assessing the damage, assisting affected residents with shelter and food.
KwaZulu-Natal Transport MEC Willies Mchunu’s spokesman Kwanele Ncalane said most roads in the province had been affected by the floods.
“We have a delegation that is assessing the situation in the province. In northern KwaZulu-Natal in the areas of Nquthu and Nkandla, a bridge was severely damaged and (motorists) cannot use it,” he said.
He said the team had been asked to compile a report on how the department could assist.
Police spokesman Jay Naicker said several people had been missing and police were waiting for water levels to drop to resume searches.
A senior forecaster at the South African Weather Service (SAWS), William Msimanga, said the rain experienced in Joburg was not particularly heavy, but because of the sheer number of showers over the past few days, flooding had occurred near major bodies of water.
The SAWS said no unusual weather was expected. Joburgers can look forward to continued rainfall, but according to Msimanga, it’s completely normal for this time of year.
In the next 24 hours, the only areas where residents may have to worry about potential flooding are those north of Pretoria, such as Soshanguve, where slightly heavier showers are expected this evening.