After prayer for rain, drought-hit Cape Town expects major storm

Cape Town and the entire Western Cape province of South Africa is on alert after South African Weather Service issued repeated warnings of a major storm in the next three days.

This comes a few weeks after Cape Town organised an inter-faith prayer service on the Table Mountain for rain during the ongoing drought in the region.

The drought is considered as the worst in more than 100 years, forcing the authorities to restrict residents from consuming over 100 litres of water per person daily.

Now, the South African Weather Service warns of flash flooding, hail, and gale force winds in the Western Cape on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, local media News 24 reports.

There will also be a possible high wind speeds between 70km/h to 90km/h, with rainfall of up to 50mm within 24 hours in certain areas.

Tourism sites and schools have been closed including the University of Cape Town in anticipation of the storm.

“Disaster Management are preparing for the worst, as they are required to do. In this instance, we [are] on the side of caution to ensure all necessary preparations are in place,” provincial government spokesperson Micheal Mpofu said in a statement on Tuesday.

The disaster centre will work with security services and emergency agencies to help those who will be affected by the major flood.