Flood warning, but clearer skies on way
A FLOOD warning was issued for Nelson Mandela Bay yesterday after heavy rains hit the city this week.
But South African Weather Service forecaster Quinton Jacobs said clearer skies were expected from today.
Residents also had to deal with power outages and road closures yesterday.
Jacobs said 59.4mm of rain was recorded in Port Elizabeth over the past two days.
But this figure was dwarfed by East London, which received 89.6mm during the same period – the highest in the province.
Jacobs said the rain of the past two days would slowly give way to clearer skies for the weekend.
“Conditions are expected to clear with some light rain [tomorrow] and on Sunday morning.” Today’s weather would be clear and sunny.
Residents in Walmer, Humewood, Lorraine, Lovemore Heights and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University all reported power outages yesterday which lasted between five and 30 minutes.
Municipal spokesman Kupido Baron said apart from the Newton Park dip being closed, the rain had caused no other dam- age in the Bay. The municipality had received complaints of slight flooding in Wells Estate. “The water there is subsiding . . . [but] if something should happen we are fully prepared to deal with it.”
Hospital sources said the lifts at Livingstone Hospital were flooded, causing a considerable delay in scheduled surgeries. Health Department spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said technicians eventually managed to get one lift to work and he was not aware of any surgical procedures that had to be postponed.