South Africa has been hit by harsh, cold, and wet conditions, with parts of the country's Eastern Cape being classified as Orange level six due to disruptive snow and damaging winds.

The country’s weather agency has forecast several days of disruptive rain and snow for the Eastern Cape and the neighboring KwaZulu-Natal province along the east coast.

Part of a major highway connecting the two provinces was closed because of snow and disaster response teams were also activated in KwaZulu-Natal.

The harsh weather has caused significant damage to road infrastructure, the displacement of residents and disruption of essential services, according to officials.

Three children were rescued after spending hours in trees to escape rising waters near the Eastern Cape city of Mthatha, one of the areas hardest hit by the storm that struck on Monday, the provincial government said in a statement.

Coldest day

Residents in Johannesburg on Tuesday faced what has been called the coldest day of the year, with disaster management teams closely monitoring any weather-related incidents.

The South African Weather Services (SAWS) issued an update on Tuesday, indicating that parts of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces are under orange level five and six warnings.

Orange level five indicates dangerous rain and flooding, while level four indicates damaging winds and waves.

South Africa occasionally experiences snow in some parts, but authorities had warned for days that a particularly strong cold front was about to hit the country.