By Anita Dangazele
- Schools in Nelson Mandela, Sarah Baartman, Buffalo City, Eden and Central Karoo districts are shut on Wednesday and Thursday due to severe weather.
- Orange Level 8 warnings are in place for the Eastern Cape coast and Garden Route, with flooding, mudslides and road closures expected.
Schools across six districts in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape are closed as a powerful winter storm system moves across the country, bringing flooding, snow and dangerous conditions to large parts of South Africa.
The Eastern Cape has shut schools in the Nelson Mandela, Sarah Baartman and Buffalo City districts for Wednesday and Thursday, 3 and 4 June 2026. The Western Cape has done the same in the Eden and Central Karoo districts. Homes and infrastructure in parts of the Eastern Cape are already being damaged.
The South African Weather Service has issued an Orange Level 8 warning for disruptive rainfall over the eastern Garden Route and along the Eastern Cape coast up to East London. Heavy downpours are expected to cause widespread road and bridge flooding, fast-flowing rivers and possible closures of major transport routes.
A separate Orange Level 5 warning covers the stretch between East London and Morgan Bay, where heavy rain could trigger mudslides, damage to infrastructure and force residents in vulnerable settlements to leave their homes.
Snow is forecast over high-lying areas of the Eastern Cape and mountain peaks of the central and eastern Western Cape. A Yellow Level 2 warning for disruptive snowfall covers the northern high-lying parts of the Eastern Cape, where icy roads are expected to make driving dangerous.
Rough seas are also a concern. A Yellow Level 4 warning for damaging coastal winds and waves covers Cape Point to Plettenberg Bay, with a Yellow Level 2 warning extending to East London.
Nabeel Rylands, acting head of the Western Cape Disaster Management Centre, said response teams across the province have been activated.
“We’ve also ensured that all our municipalities are on alert and all our national as well as our municipal and provincial stakeholders are part of our clusters,” Rylands said.
Rain is expected across southern KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and parts of Gauteng. Residents in affected areas are urged to stay alert and follow all official warnings.
Pictured above: A flooded road in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Image source: Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality
