The Western Cape Provincial Government has announced that all schools in the province will be closed on Tuesday, 12 May, due to severe storms.
The government said that the decision has been taken in the interests of learner and teacher safety.
It was decided after extensive consultation with the Provincial Disaster Management Centre and the South African Weather Service (SAWS).
The closures apply to all public ordinary and special schools in the province, it said.
“Our default position is always to keep schools open and only close schools in exceptional circumstances, but we are mindful of the severity of the warnings in place,” it said.
“We will continuously monitor and evaluate the situation to ensure that schools can reopen as soon as possible, which is currently expected to be on Wednesday, 13 May 2026.”
The provincial government noted that, as of Monday, a total of 227 schools had applied for closure in addition to the closure list issued for the Cape Winelands, Eden and Central Karoo districts.
A number of schools have also suffered damage due to the storm, which is currently being assessed, it added.
The province is currently being hit by severe storms, with two major cold fronts making landfall between Sunday, 10 May and Tuesday, 12 May.
The larger of the cold fronts is currently hitting the coast.
The SAWS has issued several warnings over the past few days, the most pertinent of which is a level 8 warning for Monday (11 May), which is expected to be downgraded to a level 6 on Tuesday.
The level 8 warning is for disruptive rain which could lead to the widespread flooding of roads, bridges and informal settlements.
A level 6 warning over strong winds and rough seas is also in place.
The National Disaster Management Centre has classified the storms as a national disaster, with emergency services on high alert to deal with any related incidents and emergencies.
