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The South African government is urging members of the public Africans to exercise caution on the roads and in general as torrential rains and wet weather are expected to continue throughout Thursday, 28 December.
Stormy weather is predicted by the South African Weather Services (SAWS) to persist for the whole week, with the country only seeing sunnier conditions by the weekend.
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“Cloudy and cool, with widespread to scattered thundershowers and rain over the central and eastern areas,” SAWS posted on its X (formerly Twitter) account.
It also warned of disruptive rain and possible flooding in the southwestern areas of Free State and eastern Northern Cape, as well as severe thunderstorms and damaging winds in the Western Cape.
Meanwhile, due to intense rainfall in Ladysmith, the riverbank along the Bell’s Spruit gave way, causing extensive flooding on the evening of Christmas Eve.
Around seven people lost their lives as a result of the floods.
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Dylan Meyrick, spokesperson for IPSS Medical Rescue, informed The Citizen that in the early morning hours, a mother, father, and their 8-year-old daughter were swept away while attempting the crossing.
Upon reaching the riverbank, the mother successfully notified the police, prompting rescuers to be summoned in an effort to locate the father and daughter.
The recovery of the girl’s body took place on Tuesday.
Additional reporting by Kyle Zeeman