(260510) -- GARDEN ROUTE, May 10, 2026 (Xinhua) -- This photo taken on May 8, 2026 shows a road blocked by fallen trees in Garden Route District Municipality, Western Cape, South Africa. The South African government has officially classified the devastating severe weather affecting multiple provinces across the country as a national disaster.
In a statement issued on Saturday night, the Department of Cooperative Governance (DCoG) said that since May 4, heavy rainfall, flooding, thunderstorms, damaging winds and snowfall have caused deaths, infrastructure damage and disruptions to essential services in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, North West, Free State and Mpumalanga provinces. (South Africa's Garden Route District Municipality Government/Handout via Xinhua)
