Cape Town: Disaster Management Agencies of Western Cape and other stakeholders remained on high alert amidst severe weather, said the Premier of Western Cape – Alan Winde.
Reportedly, the Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC) of Western Cape continues to coordinate the multi-disciplinary response to the series of cold fronts that are lashing large parts of the province.
At the daily Joint Operations Centre (JOC) briefing, observed on July 11, 2024, the South African Weather Service (SAWS)provided an update on the weather system.
Considerably, an orange level-8 warning has been released for disruptive rain, strong winds and mudslides, as they were issued ahead of the latest cold front that were made landfall overnight. The warning remained on track for the Cape Town Metropole, Drakenstein and Stellenbosch areas.
Following this a yellow level-4 warning has been also released for damaging winds in place for today and Friday, July 12, 2024 between Lambert’s Bay and Mossel Bay as well as the southern parts of Namakwa, in the Northern Cape, the Cape Town Metro, Cape Winelands, Central Karoo, Overberg and western areas of the Garden Route.
Another yellow level-4 warning has also been issued for damaging waves from Alexander Bay to Plettenberg Bay for the next two days and an orange level-6 warning has been issued for strong waves between Table Bay and Struisbaai for the same period.
According to a recent update, related to grounded ship, on the status of a sea vessel that ran aground along the West Coast earlier, in the week, the situation is being monitored.
It being monitored closely by the Western Cape Department of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Developmental Planning along with the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA).
SAMSA is coordinating the salvage operation, considering which the Chief Director of Disaster Management, Colin Deiner said that there is currently no risk of an oil spill.
On Humanitarian relief efforts, that continued to get affected across all the regions, Cape Town Metropole 44,000 meals were provided to people in need, with the help of Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) since Monday.
So, the members of the public were urged to continue donating non-perishable food items, blankets, toiletries and other essentials. However, Residents in the Cape Town Metro have been the hardest, as 6,928 structures across the city were affected and impacted more than 8,000 people.
Notably, since the first cold front made landfall around 14,000 structures have sustained the damages and affected 15,000 people across the province.