A woman has been killed by a huge wave in Southern Cape.
According to a recent report by Business Day, an elderly woman died after a huge wave hit a parking area in Leentjisklip in George in South Cape. The incident happened on Saturday “when the stormy weather battered the coastline.” Craig Lambinon, spokesperson for the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), said,
“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.” Lambinon added that a man was also injured and taken to hospital to recover.
The Eastern Cape municipality told Business Day that a body had washed up on a beach in Aston Bay. They also stated that rescuers were checking to see if there were more fatalities. They warned residents to avoid the Swarm River causeway linking Aston Bay and Paradise Beach.
In a statement, SA Weather Service meteorologist Lelo Kleinbooi said, “The storm surge was an abnormal volume of water accumulating against the coastline.” And manifesting as a raised sea level. He said it could result in coastal flooding. He said, “The waves will start subsiding at 4m to 5.5m on Monday morning and to below 4m from late afternoon.”
