Heavy rains expected in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KZN as effects of storm Eloise is felt in SA

The cyclone, which has already lost some of its strength, has wreaked havoc in parts of Mozambique and affected some roads in South Africa.

Forecaster Wayne Venter says more rainfall is expected in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and some parts of KwaZulu-Natal.

“Good amounts of rainfall over Limpopo, Mpumalanga and northern KwaZulu-Natal is expected over the next 24 hours and it’s expected to cross into Botswana. We do not expect any damaging or severe winds. The main concern is heavy rainfall that could lead to widespread flooding.

“Although the heaviest rains are expected during Sunday and Monday, it also needs to be noted that there will still be some rain on Tuesday and Wednesday, albeit much lighter, which can result in further flooding as the ground would already be saturated,” says Venter.

He says Gauteng will see some cloudy conditions from Sunday into Monday and a good chance of some rainfall.

This while the disaster management team in Mopani District in Limpopo says it is keeping an eye on several low-lying areas, including farms and major roads.

Mopani District spokesperson Odas Ngobeni says the South African National Defence Force is on standby to assist.

“What we have done was to identify some community halls and schools as evacuation point in case we need to be evacuating some communities. We have also alerted communities, particularly in the low-lying areas, as to what are the channels that they need to follow.

“We have the support from key stakeholders including SANDF if there is a need to airlift people, we will be getting that support. So far no major incidents have been reported, we only had issues around trees falling in our major roads,” says Ngobeni.

The Gauteng provincial government have also activated contingency plans and response teams

Gauteng’s head of Disaster Dr Elias Sithole says they have assembled an advanced team to assist when the need arise.

“Even though the anticipated provinces to be affected by the storms are KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, the Gauteng province has adequate capacity to be of assistance should the need arise.

“Given the intensity of the heavy rainfall and storms which have already caused havoc in the neighbouring Mozambique, the three provinces have been identified as prone to the impact of the cyclone," says Sithole.

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