South Africa paralyzed! Windstorms, giant waves, floods and fires are destroying Cape Town!

South Africa paralyzed! Windstorms, giant waves, floods and fires are destroying Cape Town! Extreme winds and rainfall wreak havoc across South Africa’s coastal province, killing at least 1. Heavy winds, storms and strong rainfalls battering South Africa’s coastal province of Western Cape, which includes Cape Town, have left at least one person dead. South Africa is on high alert after level nine flood warnings. Authorities say gale-force winds wreaked havoc across the province over the weekend, blowing off rooftops and toppling trees. South Africa has activated a Disaster Coordinating Committee in the Western Cape after warning of potentially dangerous floods in the province on Monday. The floods as a result of heavy downpours of rain in the Free State have exposed the inability of the provincial government to launch coordinated responses during disasters. Disasters include, among others, damaging floods, wildfires, sewage spills and droughts. Western Cape Premier Alan Winde announced that schools in the Overberg, Cape Winelands and Helderberg areas would be closed on Monday as the province braced for strong winds and heavy rainfall. Briefing the media on Sunday, after the SA Weather Service issued a level 9 warning for damaging winds and rain in many parts of the province, Winde urged residents to stay safe. “We have decided to close all schools in the Overberg region, Cape Winelands and Helderberg areas on Monday. We don’t ever really want to close schools, but we need to remain cautious,“ he said. Strong winds blew over a vehicle at the Huguenot Tunnel in N1 outside Cape Town in the Western Cape. Video of a truck trailer component being blown off as it approached the Huguenot Tunnel is circulating on social media. The incident reportedly happened on Saturday 6 April. In the video, a strong wind blows the truck off its wheels, lying on the road on its side, and another truck approaching the tunnel sways with the wind and falls off the bridge. The humanitarian organization, Gift of the Givers, has deployed its volunteers across the Western Cape and to other parts of the country to assist those affected by the adverse weather conditions. The fire also caused rock falls on Fish Hoek’s Main Road. According to Charlotte Powell, spokesperson for the City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management department, evacuations were underway in the affected area. She said there were also “numerous reports of uprooted trees in Somerset West, Philippi, Mitchells Plain and Sea Point“. “The Energy Department is working on restoring power lines and supply in numerous areas, including Claremont, Fish Hoek, Athlone, Durbanville, Mfuleni, Kuilsriver and Plumstead #storm #capetown #westerncape #tornado #fires #southafrica