The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued several severe weather alerts, ahead of the winter weekend in the Western Cape.

Strong winds, disruptive rains and/or damaging waves are forecast, from Saturday through Monday.

Yellow Level 4: Minor to significant impact

A Yellow Level 4 warning for wind and waves has been issued in some coastal towns, where there will be difficulty navigating the seas. The coast between Saldanha Bay and Cape Agulhas will be affected from Friday. These conditions are expected to spread to Plettenberg Bay on Sunday, continuing until Monday.

This warning has also been extended to motorists, who should also be cautious while travelling on “high-sided vehicles on prone routes”, such as the N1 and N2. The SAWS says “damage to settlements” is also included in this warning, and is expected in the Western Cape interior and Namakwa (in the Northern Cape).

Possible flooding

There disruptive rain condition could possible result in flooding in roads and certain areas in the Western Cape. The Central Karoo, West Coast, the Cape Winelands will be impacted by this this week. While on Monday and Tuesday, there’s a chance of flooding in the Garden Route and the Overberg.

Orange Level 6: Significant to severe impact

An Orange Level 6 warning has been issued for strong winds in some coastal regions, as well as in the Overberg, Cape Town and the Cape Winelands.  The warning reads that the strong winds in able Bay and Cape Agulhas will lead to “vessels being at risk of dragging anchor and breaking mooring lines”. Structural damage is expected in the other regions.

City fire warning

The SAWS says there’s also an extremely high fire danger in parts of Cape Town on Saturday.

The City’s Disaster Risk Management Centre says it has noted the severe weather warning and will take the necessary actions.

“The DRMC has alerted all relevant City services to be on standby, in the event of any potential weather-related impacts.” – Charlotte Powell, Cape Town Disaster Risk Management

Spokesperson, Charlotte Powell, has also issued several tips that residents can follow to reduce the impact of the inclement weather conditions.

Residents are requested to please help reduce risks to their properties by:

• Clearing out drainage systems
• Raising the floor level of a structure so that it is higher than the natural ground level
• Raise furniture on bricks to clear from the floor to limit water damage
• Make sandbags
• Dig trenches around the house to divert water away from the house
• Report blocked drains, intakes and illegal dumping – illegal dumping in the storm water canals and sewers make flooding worse
• Waterproof roofs, clear gutters and remove dead tree branches

Powell also provided several contact numbers, at residents’ disposal in the case of an emergency.