Eastern Cape COGTA MEC Zolile Williams says the province is on high alert following a warning from the South African Weather Services that the region might be hit by a cyclone called Freddy.
“It is already predicted that we may face a tropical cyclone called Freddy coming through Madagascar island, and this may result in more flash floods that may affect this province,” said Williams.
This comes as the province is still grappling with floods following a week of heavy rains that has claimed the lives of ten lives with four others still missing.
The bad news is that the weather services have predicted that the rainy season will stop at the end this quarter.
“The report of the SAWS (South African Weather Services) to the last Cabinet meeting indicated that the cause of these torrential rains was the El Nina effect which causes above abnormal rainfall, and this is to remain with us until the end of the first quarter of 2023,” Williams said.
According to Williams, six districts of the province have been experiencing heavy rains since early this month resulting in flooding which has displaced families and destroyed roads and bridges with damages estimated at a total of R4.5 billion.
But the figure doesn’t include water and sanitation, he said.
He said the current disaster took place against the backdrop of similar destructive weather in 2021 and 2022 which caused the destruction that amounted to losses of R1.9 billion and still remains a huge challenge as no funds had been availed to the province.
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