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 on Friday morning.
Three people were rescued on Friday morning when parts of Florida Lake, Soweto and Eldorado Park in Johannesburg experienced flooding.
According to City of Johannesburg Emergency Medical Services (EMS) spokesperson Xolile Khumalo, a man was rescued in Florida when his vehicle became trapped in water. The man managed to escape and climb up a tree. He was treated for hypothermia, Khumalo added.
In Kliptown, Soweto, another person was rescued from a vehicle after it became caught in rising water on a bridge. The person escaped unharmed, Khumalo said.
In a third incident, a wall collapsed at a property in Naledi, Soweto.
“The EMS team rescued an 88-year-old woman in Naledi where the wall had fallen the woman has been taken to hospital for treatment; it is alleged that she might have swallowed dirty water,” Khumalo said.
Several roads have been closed due to flooding, including Goldman Street in Florida and Christiaan de Wet Road.
Fihla is keeping an eye on the routes which were affected by the overnight rain.
“In Soweto, there is flooding on Moroka Nancefield Road, at Ncube Drive in Dube, affecting traffic flow between Klipspruit Valley and Elias Motsoaledi Road. Still in Soweto, there are reports of flooding on Klipspruit Valley Road next to Maponya dealership in Orlando West and also in meadowlands Zone 10 near Kwa Mahlobo Secondary School.”
Meanwhile, this week’s downpours in Gauteng have also affected electricity infrastructure.
“To tell the truth, we are still in disaster mode, we have not recovered since the storms earlier this week and the rain has been persisting as we have been trying to address the backlogs. We are not out of the woods yet,” said City Power’s Isaac Mangena.
Source: The Citizen, News24, Eyewitness News, image from Twitter: @Faizel Patel143