Roofs of houses and businesses were in danger of collapsing under the weight of snow in Barkly East and Elliot in the Eastern Cape, Arrive Alive said on Wednesday.
”The snow is still very heavy and there is a possibility that roofs may collapse,” said Arrive Alive spokesperson Tshepo Machaea. The area saw heavy snowfalls through the night.
Machaea said the R58 between Barkly East and Elliot would be closed to traffic on Wednesday morning.
Disaster teams and traffic authorities were using graders to clear snow off the road. ”But it is very, very cold and the snow is very thick. We are not sure when the snow will be cleared,” Machaea said.
Elliot was plunged into darkness on Tuesday night after a loud explosion, possible from a substation, was heard.
Roads in parts of Mount Fletcher and between Matatiele and Quchasnek — the road connecting the Eastern Cape and Lesotho — were also closed to traffic.
Machaea also warned motorists in the northern parts of the province to drive cautiously as rock falls had been reported.
He said snow had been cleared off the N9 between Middelburg and Graaff-Reinet and the R61 between Cradock and Graaff-Reinet. ”Those roads are now open. Motorists are being allowed back on to them.”
Earlier this month, floods caused by torrential rains claimed at least six lives in Port Elizabeth, in the Eastern Cape, where more than 7 000 people had to be evacuated from 1 500 homes.
A tornado damaged homes in Dullstroom, Mpumalanga, and a rescue mission was launched to rescue motorists trapped in their cars in heavy snow in Lesotho.
There were gales and very rough seas along the coast, with heavy rain on the Cape south coast, the KwaZulu-Natal north coast and the Western Cape south coast — where there were floods. Snowfalls were reported in the Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg, Ottosdal in the North West, and Johannesburg. — Sapa