CAPE TOWN, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Severe storms, characterized by heavy rainfall and strong winds, battered South Africa's Western Cape Province on Monday, leaving at least three people dead and causing widespread infrastructure damage.
The Western Cape government said in a statement that the Provincial Disaster Management Center had reported three fatalities on Monday, although authorities had not yet confirmed whether the incidents were linked to the severe storm conditions.
In several areas across the Western Cape, strong winds blew roofs off residential homes and businesses. Roads were littered with fallen trees, while homes in informal settlements were severely flooded.
In the statement, the Provincial Department of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning also reported fallen trees, electricity outages and localized flooding across the City of Cape Town and nearby districts.
Several schools across the province reported infrastructure damage and localized flooding, prompting the Western Cape Education Department to announce the closure of all schools in the province on Tuesday.
In a separate statement, City of Cape Town Disaster Risk Management Center spokesperson Charlotte Powell said there were at least two incidents of trees falling onto motor vehicles on Monday. In one incident, a person died after a tree fell onto the vehicle they were in, while in the second incident, a motorist was injured.
The South African government officially classified the severe weather, which has affected six provinces since May 4, as a national disaster on Saturday night. This followed previous fatalities, including three deaths in the Northern Cape last week.
The South African Weather Service warned that "disruptive rainfall" and "damaging winds" were expected to persist in parts of the Western Cape until Tuesday. ■