Cape Town cold front displaces more than 2 000 people

Winter storms in Cape Town have displaced more than 2000 people, the city's disaster risk management centre said.

"Thunderstorms were present across the Cape Peninsula last night [Saturday], resulting in gusting winds causing widespread damage and destruction," said spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes.

He said 547 shacks were damaged and 2266 people were displaced by storms and flooding in Bishop Lavis, Hout Bay and parts of Gugulethu, Strand and Khayelitsha.

In Philippi, a graveyard was flooded. Elsewhere, the roofs of houses were blown off.

A number of mainly informal settlements were flooded in Atlantis, Blackheath, Elsies River, Kalkfontein, Langa, Lavender Hill, Lotus River, Milnerton, Parkwood.

Cape Town mayor Patricia De Lille called for "extraordinary emergency arrangements".

Solomons-Johannes said snow had fallen on the western high ground of the Western Cape and the Southern high ground of the Northern Cape overnight from Saturday into Sunday.

He advised farmers to take precautionary measures to protect their livestock and crops during the freezing weather.