Strong winds caused damage in Cape Town on Thursday, including damage to the roof of Booth Memorial Hospital (left) and a building on Solomons Road, Sea Point. (Facebook/Cllr Francine Higham – Ward 77, Cape Town and Sea Point CID)
- Strong winds have damaged buildings in Cape Town.
- The province has been battered by cold and windy conditions this week.
- The conditions are expected to move towards other provinces on Friday.
Strong winds have battered the Western Cape, affecting several buildings, including a hospital in Cape Town.
According to a social media post by ward councillor Francine Higham, the roof at Booth Memorial Hospital, on the corner of Upper Orange and Prince Street, was damaged.
“Fire and Rescue Services are on scene to assist the hospital management to secure the roof as best as possible in these high winds,” she said on Thursday night.
Another report from the Sea Point Improvement District indicated that a roof had blown off a building on Solomons Road.
The City of Cape Town’s disaster risk management centre had not confirmed the weather-related incidents at the time of publication.
However, Sanral (SA National Road Agency) western region manager Randall Cable said Huguenot Tunnel had been closed to heavy vehicles.
Cable said:
The tunnel is open for light motor vehicles. Heavy vehicles are still being rerouted.
“The control room is monitoring the wind speed.”
The South African Weather Service issued a Level 2 warning for strong to near-gale force winds for most of the coastline between the Western Cape and Eastern Cape on Thursday.
There is currently a Level 6 warning in place for disruptive snow across parts of the country.
News24 previously reported that a spring cut-off low would bring very cold, wet and windy conditions to several provinces.
READ | Cold snap: Snow, rain and wind in the forecast
The Western Cape, Northern Cape, and Eastern Cape experienced cold conditions from Thursday. On Friday, the conditions are expected to spread to KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, and Mpumalanga and reach Gauteng, the North West, and Limpopo on Saturday.
“Disruptive snowfall and bitterly cold conditions are expected to affect the high-lying areas of the Eastern Cape (especially the north-eastern high-ground) from Thursday, spreading to the eastern and southern high-ground of the Free State, the western and southern high-ground of KwaZulu-Natal, and extending as far as the southern Highveld of Mpumalanga on Friday into Saturday morning,” the SAWS said.