Fresh warning of 'disruptive' rains in Limpopo and Mpumalanga

The SA Weather Service has issued an “orange” warning of disruptive rainfall in Mpumalanga and Limpopo between Monday and Tuesday.

According to forecasters, the rainfall is expected over the eastern parts of Limpopo and Mpumalanga from Monday evening into Tuesday.

“This might result in flooding in places as the soil is still saturated due to the rainfall from the tropical depression ‘Eloise',” the weather service said in a statement.

It warned that “disruptive” rainfall was expected over the eastern parts of Limpopo and Mpumalanga resulting in “flooded low-lying areas, isolated incidents of breaching earth dam walls”.

The weather service also warned against “general disruption to traffic and basic services, flooding of roads and settlements (both formal and informal), dangerous driving conditions on tarred and dead roads due to an increased number of pot-holes, as well as danger to life (particularly fast-flowing rivers and streams)".

“The public are advised to monitor the SA Weather Service Facebook page (@WeatherService) and Twitter @SAWeatherService and the SAWS website (www.weathersa.co.za) for any significant changes in the weather forecast and updates to the warnings especially in the next week.”

The Kruger National Park has also issued a warning of “a high possibility of [the] Crocodile River flooding and the bridge to be closed”.

The country had received a significant amount of rainfall in the past week, and due to the high soil moisture content, some areas only required a small amount of rain for flooding to occur, the SA Weather Service said.

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