Western Cape disaster teams on standby for possible severe weather as traffic increases

“At a time when we are gearing up for the start of the festive season and expecting heightened traffic volumes as people arrive in our province, we are putting additional standby resources in place to respond where needed. However, we appeal to road users to please exercise greater caution when travelling,” premier Alan Winde said on Wednesday.

“We are also concerned that with heightened levels of load-shedding and possible severe weather, the situation could worsen. I will be holding an extended cabinet meeting tomorrow with municipalities across the province to assess plans and preparedness for this long weekend and the festive season as a whole.”

A deterioration in weather conditions is anticipated from Friday and the provincial disaster management centre has placed aerial and ground-support resources on standby.

Torrential rain on Monday caused flash floods in and around Paarl and Stellenbosch.