Johannesburg - Two people died and two others were reported missing on Wednesday as severe rain and snowfall resulted in rescue operations countrywide.
A homeless man in his fifties died on Wednesday of apparent hypothermia in Westville, KwaZulu-Natal paramedics said.
ER24 spokesperson Derrick Banks said the man was found lying inside a box on Methven Road near the New Germany Nature Reserve. He was declared dead on the scene.
Eastern Cape police said a three-year-old Eastern Cape girl was killed in Bityi, near Mthatha, when the walls of her home crumbled after continuous rain.
Meanwhile, the search for a missing Kareedouw farmer was called off on Wednesday afternoon, Eastern Cape police said.
Lieutenant Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the farmer and his wife in their car were swept off a low bridge by floodwaters. The woman managed to climb out the window and hold onto a rock about 100m downstream. She was later rescued.
The search for a missing woman paramedic whose ambulance veered off a bridge into a river in Montagu was conducted earlier on Wednesday.
Rescue operations in KwaZulu-Natal had been successful as all 157 people were evacuated on Wednesday, paramedics said.
Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said bulldozers would start clearing and opening roads on Thursday.
South African Weather Service forecaster Jan Vermeulen said isolated showers and rain was predicted over Gauteng, the North West, the Free State, southern Mpumalanga, the western half of the Eastern Cape, and the southern part of the Western Cape for Wednesday.
There were forecasts of scattered to widespread rain or snow over KwaZulu-Natal and the eastern part of the Eastern Cape.
It would be very cold over the south-east and eastern interior, and heavy rainfalls are expected over southern KwaZulu-Natal.
“For tomorrow (Thursday) we don't expect any rain over the country. Sunny weather and no alerts.”
Friday's weather was also predicted to be sunny and warmer.
There was a cold front approaching the Western Cape which would bring rain over the area, but fine weather was predicted for the rest of the country.
- Sapa/IOL
No comments:
Post a Comment