By: Natasha Archary

Schools in some parts of the Western Cape have been closed due to the Level 9 severe weather warning that was issued on Monday, 08 April.
This after strong gale-force winds battered most of the province on Sunday, 07 April leaving a trail of destruction behind.
Adverse windy conditions in Cape Town over the weekend have caused a number of incidents including roofs being blown off, and structures of buildings coming undone.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said schools in Overberg, Cape Winelands and Helderberg would be closed following the South African Weather Service (SAWS) issuing an updated orange Level 9 warning for parts of the province.
On Sunday, raging fires which were aggravated by the heavy winds tore through at least 9 homes near Fish Hoek.
Most of the damages to properties in residential and business districts were caused by the strong winds, and a number of informal houses in Khayelitsha were also destroyed.
Videos of vehicles being blown over highway bridges were also shared across social media platforms.
Winde says Disaster Management Teams are already on the ground battening down the hatches to ensure that no further damage to the schools and other public facilities occur.
“Disaster Management Teams have been incredible in ensuring that roof sheeting gets replaced so we don’t have further damage to schools.
Of the 13 schools that have been severely affected, teams are already on site to assess the damages and conduct repairs and reinforce structures.
Across the districts, from fire fighters, to law enforcement and emergency services on the ground to evacuate people from areas that are most high risk.
We gave people time to gather essentials but we were there with trucks to pick people up and take them to places of safety because we were worried about burning pieces of roof sheeting that were flying through the air, causing risks to life.”
Residents are urged to stay indoors and exercise caution as Winde says the potential for further flooding and mudslides are likely with the predicted heavy downpours expected on Monday.
Tonight’s weather update pic.twitter.com/pl6LkZtqgm
— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) April 7, 2024



