Extreme sustained cold fronts blowing in from the Atlantic Oceans carried snow and heavy rain on high winds in and around Cape Town, South Africa, resulting in thousands of homes being damaged and thousands of people being displaced by flooding, reported ABC News.
“The South African city of Cape Town and surrounding areas have been hit by more storms, ripping roofs off houses and causing widespread flooding,” ABC News said. “Schools were closed in Cape Town and other nearby areas, including the renowned wine-growing region of Stellenbosch, where snow lined the streets earlier in the week in a highly unusual occurrence as a result of the extreme cold fronts coming in from the Atlantic Ocean.
“Multiple cold fronts have battered the region on the southwest tip of Africa since late last week, bringing record rainfall in some parts and gale-force winds,” continued ABC News. “The South African city of Cape Town and surrounding areas were hit by more storms Thursday that ripped roofs off houses and caused widespread flooding, forcing at least 4,500 people out of their homes and damaging at least 15,000 structures, authorities said. The devastating weather began a week ago.”
The heavy snow and rain resulted and rising water in rivers in the Stellenbosch region. In response, the province’s disaster management services ordered evacuations of people in some agricultural areas and water authorities were considering a controlled release of water from area dams as a “precautionary measure,” to prevent a breach.