PRETORIA, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The South African Weather Service (SAWS) said on Thursday that Tropical Cyclone Freddy is expected to hit the country from Saturday to Monday.
Freddy is likely to affect the northeastern parts of South Africa from early Saturday until Monday, especially the lowveld and escarpment areas of Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces, said Tshepho Ngobeni, SAWS senior manager, while briefing the media in Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa.
"Very heavy rainfall in the order of 200 to 400 mm is possible, and this may result in widespread significant flooding. The districts in question are Vhembe and Mopani in Limpopo, and to a slightly lesser extent, Ehlanzeni in Mpumalanga," said Ngobeni.
After significant flooding occurred over the lowveld and escarpment areas the last few weeks, this may be catastrophic and cause prolonged and severe impacts, Ngobeni said, urging residents in the northeastern parts to be vigilant.
"In addition to heavy rains, strong winds caused by Freddy are also expected in the northeastern parts of the country from Friday evening, with average speeds of about 45 km/h," he said. ■
