The residents of Soweto, Roodepoort, Florida and surrounding areas woke up in flooded homes and destroyed roads after the heavy rains battered the areas overnight.
On Friday, spokesperson for the Johannesburg Metro Police Department, Xolani Fihla, said its officers are following up on numerous reports of flooding across the city.
“People must exercise extreme caution because the water has flooded people’s homes,” Fihla said. “We want to warn the motorists as well about the situation, because there are roads that we have not received a report on, but are prone to the flooding. We urge them to avoid using them to stay safe.”
Even though there are no reported casualties, Fihla said his department is not expecting any changes on the weather at the moment.
“We have been experiencing continuous rainfalls for the previous week and this week as well, that is why we are advising people to be on high alert and avoid low-lying areas.”
City of Johannesburg MMC for public safety, David Tembe, said the residents need to act with caution and not panic.
“The City of Johannesburg would like to warn the residents about the impact and effects of flash flooding in Johannesburg. If you are in a low-lying area, immediately evacuate to higher ground on the road and heed road closure warnings,” said Tembe.
Meanwhile, the South African Weather Service has warned of more rain in Gauteng until at least Sunday, while emergency services are responding to more calls about flooded roads in Joburg, according to media reports
The heavy rains overnight come days after a hailstorm caused infrastructure damage in some parts of Gauteng on Monday.
On Wednesday, the Joburg City Power pleaded for patience and cooperation from customers, saying it was racing against time to fix damaged infrastructure following heavy rains Monday.
Many areas across the province were hit hard by the heavy downpour that caused damage to street poles, flooded transformer chambers, uprooted trees and damaged overhead cables and electricity infrastructure.
Isaac Mangena, spokesperson for City Power, said the utility was dealing with a backlog of 2 500 calls from aggrieved customers.
🔴 DANGER: INFRASTRUCTURE DAMAGE & MAJOR FLOODING REPORTED IN ROODEPOORT, FLORIDA & OTHER PARTS OF NW JOHANNESBURG, DUE TO HEAVY OVERNIGHT RAIN | 📸 SUPPLIED pic.twitter.com/A42cRc2nXt
— Gauteng Weather (@tWeatherSA) December 9, 2022
The floods in Soweto 😳
— Collen (@Collen_KM) December 9, 2022
Soweto people le robetse?
Di floods ke tseo😭😭😭— Keamo🔌❤️🤸♀️ (@Keamo_KeaMorake) December 9, 2022
Yaze yangihambisa kabuhlungu imvula #SowetoFloods
— 🇿🇦C'balukhulu🇸🇿🖋️ (@Daark_chocolat) December 9, 2022
#WeServeJoburg #JHBTraffic #JoburgUpdates
⚠️ *TRAFFIC ALERT*⚠️ Bridge flooding on Ndaba Street and Manotshe Street in Mapetla, Region D. Bridge has collapsed please avoid. @CityofJoburgZA @GPDRT_ @CoJTransport @Coj_RegionD pic.twitter.com/IRDh0UyYre— Joburg Roads Agency (@MyJRA) December 9, 2022
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
Sunday World
