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Residents walk between flooded shacks following severe weather from a cold front in Masiphumelele, Cape Town.
The National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) Head, Dr Elias Sithole, has classified the recent severe weather events affecting several provinces as national disaster.
Last week, the South African Weather Service (SAWS) issued a weather advisory for cold, wet and windy conditions in the Western and Northern Cape.
Several provinces including Free State, Eastern Cape and the Western Cape have all experienced cold and rainy weather conditions.
The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) spokesperson Legadima Leso says, “The classification follows widespread severe weather conditions experienced from 4 May 2026, including heavy rainfall, flooding, thunderstorms, damaging winds and snowfall across the Western Cape, North West, Free State, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Mpumalanga provinces.”
The National Disaster Management Centre says the classification of this disaster will enable government to intensify coordination and strengthen ongoing response and recovery efforts across all spheres of government.
