JOHANNESBURG: South Africa is under multiple severe weather alerts as a powerful cut-off low-pressure system brings heavy rain, thunderstorms, and flooding risk across key regions, the South African Weather Service (SAWS) said.
According to the SAWS, heavy rainfall of 100 to 150 mm, intense thunderstorms, and strong winds are expected from Sunday into the early hours of Monday.
The SAWS has issued an orange level 9 warning for Gauteng and the western parts of Mpumalanga, warning of "disruptive rainfall" that could lead to widespread flooding of roads and settlements, as well as life-threatening conditions from fast-flowing streams, Xinhua News Agency reported.
In Limpopo and some other parts of Mpumalanga, an orange level 6 alert warns of severe thunderstorms, gusty winds, and heavy rain. Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal has been placed under a yellow level 4 warning.
In the North West, Northern Cape, and Free State provinces, the SAWS has issued an orange level 5 warning, which could cause flooding of low-lying roads and bridges and damage to infrastructure.
The storm system is expected to persist through Monday, the agency said, adding that possible impacts include flooding of settlements and other properties, dangerous driving conditions, damage to infrastructure, and disruption to essential services.
The public is strongly advised to monitor SAWS's official website and social media updates and follow local authority instructions to reduce risks during this prolonged weather event.
The SAWS issues impact-based warnings using a colour-and-number matrix that communicates both the severity and likelihood of hazardous weather. Yellow indicates a potential minor to moderate impact, orange signals a significant threat, and red denotes extreme danger. Each warning is also assigned a number from one to 10 to reflect the probability of the event occurring.