A heavy thunderstorm in Grahamstown on Wednesday left 11 people injured and 65 homeless, Eastern Cape police said.
A chilly weekend lies ahead for most of the country, the South African Weather Service said on Thursday.
An investigation has cleared management of the South African Weather Service on most of 17 allegations of wasteful expenditure, nepotism and more.
The bulk of allegations made by employees against management and board members at the South African Weather Service have proved to be unfounded.
On a vast rubbish-strewn field in a mining area east of Johannesburg, hundreds of destitute Africans who have fled their makeshift homes in nearby slums shiver in the morning cold. The land, covered in white tents donated by aid groups, resembles the all-too-familiar refugee camps seen across this violence-hit continent.
Cold and stormy weather that hit the Eastern Cape on the weekend has claimed three lives so far, police said on Monday. Two men apparently died from the cold near Mthatha on Sunday, while a woman was killed in a storm in the province’s Ngcobo area. By Monday afternoon, snow that had been falling over the province overnight was beginning to clear up.
Snow is expected to fall on the high ground of the Eastern Cape this weekend, the South African Weather Service said on Friday. A cold, wet weekend is expected throughout most of the province. Heavy rains of 50mm plus in 24 hours are expected along the coastal belt and adjacent interior on Sunday.
Wintry weather conditions are expected to appear this weekend, the South African Weather Service said on Wednesday. ”The first outbreak of cold weather this year will occur from Saturday, taking more effect on Sunday,” said forecaster Puseletso Mofokeng. He said rain-free conditions were expected until Friday.
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/ 26 December 2007
Heavy rains have caused flooding and rockslides in the southern Cape over the past two days. A group of 60 caravanners had to be evacuated from the Pine Creek holiday resort near the Groot Brakrivier, and the road between Ladysmith and Calitzdorp was closed because of rockfalls.
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/ 24 December 2007
Santa Claus will have to slide down slippery chimneys on Christmas Day as thunderstorms are expected in most parts of South Africa on Tuesday. Rain and thunderstorms across several parts of the country have been predicted by the South African Weather Service.
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/ 24 November 2007
Western Cape Premier Ibrahim Rasool on Saturday met emergency personnel after a killer storm left two dead and damage estimated at around R600-million. An official of the devastated Eden district municipality said storms that ravaged the Cape have caused damage estimated between R500-million and R600-million to the Poort area.
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/ 23 November 2007
A 12-year-old boy drowned and a 65-year-old man is missing in flooding caused by heavy rains in the Southern Cape, police said on Friday. Captain Malcolm Pojie said the young boy from Harkerville, about 5km to 10km outside Plettenberg Bay, was playing with friends along the banks of a river swollen by rain when he was swept downstream.
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/ 23 November 2007
Tsitsikamma district residents in the Eastern Cape are being evacuated by Cacadu’s disaster management due to heavy rains, the South African Weather Service said on Friday. ”The R61 and R62 are still closed. One lane is open on the N2 between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town,” spokesperson Garth Sampson said.
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/ 16 October 2007
The upcoming summer season will have unusual weather conditions, and farmers need to have contingency plans, the Agriculture and Land Affairs Department said on Tuesday. Spokesperson Steve Galane said wet and warm conditions are expected over South Africa’s summer rainfall areas.
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/ 14 October 2007
The Ntini fishing vessel docked at Mossel Bay on Saturday, nearly a week after its crew reported sighting an iceberg south-east of St Francis Bay, said the National Sea Rescue Institute. Spokesperson Craig Lambinon said that despite rumours to the contrary, no one on board had taken photographs of the iceberg.
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/ 11 October 2007
Following the panic that gripped Johannesburg on Monday when emails and SMSs said an alleged tornado was about to strike the city, the Cabinet has decided to ask the national disaster-management centre to find ways in which such situations could be better managed in future.
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/ 10 October 2007
The skipper of the Ntini fishing vessel was adamant that his 20-member crew had spotted an iceberg off St Francis Bay on Monday evening, he told Cape Town Radio on Tuesday. The boat’s captain told the station he was certain about the dimensions and location of the iceberg. He had also taken pictures of it.
It is highly unlikely that there could be a massive iceberg off St Francis Bay, a top South African Weather Service marine researcher said on Tuesday. On Monday, the crew of a fishing vessel, the Ntini, reported seeing a massive iceberg — estimated at 25m in length and 25m high.
Heavy rains are set to continue over Gauteng for the next two days, clearing up on Friday and continuing at the weekend, the South African Weather Service said on Tuesday. ”There will be showers over the weekend, and I can’t rule out the possibility of heavy rains,” said forecaster Evert Scholtz.
Emails suggesting that a severe storm with a tornado was to hit Johannesburg and surrounds on Monday afternoon were "greatly exaggerated", the South African Weather Service said. One email on Monday read: "Please be careful as a tornado dropped in Randfontein on Saturday and is expected today."
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/ 28 September 2007
A seaman aboard the SA Agulhas died on Friday morning in an incident involving other crew members. ”Following a non-work related incident … in the early hours of this morning, we regret to advise of the death of one of the crew members, 22-year-old Edward Robert Hulley,” a statement said.
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/ 27 September 2007
Several areas in Gauteng suffered power cuts on Thursday as gusting winds and heavy rain swept through the province, City Power said. ”There are no major outages, but houses and businesses have been affected,” said spokesperson Louise Pieterse.
An intensifying drought that is bringing Eastern and Southern Cape farmers to their knees is certain to cause an increase in the price of mutton, lamb and beef, the Herald Online reported on Tuesday. Karoo farmers, who say they have not had good rains for almost a year, have been battling a crippling drought.