An elderly woman died after a huge wave hit a parking area in Leentjiesklip, George, in the southern Cape on Saturday, when stormy weather battered the coastline.
‘A 93-year-old female has sadly passed away. Our understanding is that she was swept off her feet by a wave that penetrated a car park, causing cars to be swept with that wave’, said National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) spokesperson Craig Lambinon.
A man was also injured and taken to hospital, Lambinon said.
An unidentified body was washed up in Kouga in the Eastern Cape. In a statement the municipality said a body had washed up on the beach at Aston Bay; rescuers were investigating the possibility of more fatalities.
Residents have been warned not to use the Swart River causeway linking Aston Bay and Paradise Beach, despite the water subsiding.
SA Weather Service meteorologist Lelo Kleinbooi said the storm surge was an abnormal volume of water accumulating against the coastline, manifesting as a raised sea level which could result in coastal flooding.
The waves were expected to start subsiding to between 4m and 5.5m on Monday morning and to below 4m from late afternoon.
Kleinbooi said: ‘This happens when you have a deep or intense low-pressure system passing through, and in our case an intense cold front which passed south of the country. This results in a tight pressure gradient which causes strong winds that enhance the sea state. Additionally, if you have a new or full moon with this, you will have a good chance of a storm surge, as expected waves will be enhanced even further during high tide’.
Gordon’s Bay, Three Anchor Bay, Sandy Bay and Stilbaai were affected by huge waves.
In Table Bay in Cape Town a man was rushed to hospital with hypothermia.