Strong winds, heavy rain expected in CT metro and other WC municipal districts

CAPE TOWN - The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued a yellow level five warning for Cape Town and yellow level nine for the Overstrand, Stellenbosch, and Swellendam municipal areas.

It says residents can expect disruptive rainfall and extremely windy conditions in the province on Sunday.

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Road closures are in place in various areas after the winds uprooted trees.

"Cape Town Traffic Officers are assisting with incidents where trees have been uprooted across the city," said City of Cape Town Traffic Chief Kevin Jacobs. 

"Officers are also removing debris and branches from the roadways on various parts of the city. The two sections of Baden Powel Drive remain closed. The road is closed between Strandfontein Road and Capricorn Circle in Muizenberg."

Meanwhile, the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) is calling on motorists in the Western Cape to exercise extreme caution when using the roads, as the region is experiencing extremely strong windy conditions.

The winds contributed to a truck being blown off a bridge leading to the Huguenot Tunnel on Saturday. Officials have since closed the tunnel on both sides.

SANRAL'S project manager for Huguenot Tunnel, Mike Vinello-Lippert:

"Strong winds have hampered recovery operations of another blown-over vehicle on the viaduct and the tunnel was closed to all traffic until the obstruction on the viaduct has been removed. The driver of the truck that blew over managed to exit the vehicle in time and was unharmed."