CAPE TOWN, May 6 — More than 120 schools in parts of South Africa’s Western Cape have been ordered to close on Wednesday and Thursday as authorities respond to severe weather warnings, with heavy rainfall and damaging winds expected across the region.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Western Cape Department of Education said that after consultation with the Provincial Disaster Management Center and the South African Weather Service (SAWS), a decision has been taken to close schools in certain areas of the Eden and Central Karoo Education District on Wednesday and Thursday.
The department said all public ordinary and special needs schools in circuits identified by it would be closed on both days due to severe rainfall warnings.
Affected circuits include parts of George, Knysna and Oudtshoorn, while other schools in the province would remain open unless separately instructed to close. In an earlier statement, SAWS warned that an approaching period of cold, wet and windy conditions was expected to affect large parts of the country through Thursday.
It said widespread rainfall is anticipated over the Western Cape and Eastern Cape, extending into the Free State, with risks of flooding, damaging winds and hazardous coastal conditions, including transport disruption and possible infrastructure damage.
The Western Cape education department said it would continue to monitor conditions, with schools expected to reopen on Friday, subject to further weather assessments. (Namibia Daily News/ Xinhua)
