Africa-Press – South-Africa. Inclement weather across the country wreaked havoc in many areas, leaving homes flooded, while walls and roads collapsed.
Colin Deiner, head of the Western Cape’s disaster management services, said they were on high alert on Tuesday evening.
“We have not received any information on major damage other than the Eskom substation in Witzenberg, which has since been restored. We will commence with a damage assessment as soon as this storm warning has passed,” he said.
City of Cape Town Disaster Risk Management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said they received reports of flooded roadways in Du Noon, Somerset West, Gordon’s Bay, Strand and Muizenberg.
She said approximately 50 homes were flooded in informal settlements in Masiphumelele and that the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) was activated to provide humanitarian assistance.
In Gauteng, mop-up operations were under way after severe storms left a trail of destruction. Many homes were flooded, walls and roads collapsed and trees uprooted.
On Tuesday, Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) spokesperson Bertha Peters-Scheepers said Hendrik Potgieter Road was closed near Raceworx KTM, after part of the road collapsed.
Albertina Sisulu Road, between Westlake Road and Fourth Road, in Florida was also closed to traffic as a precautionary measure following recent flooding.
A sinkhole formed on Jim FoucheĢ Road at the intersection of Phil Allen Avenue, and the road has been partially closed. Peters-Scheepers said a bridge on Kilburn Street and Wilgerood Road in Roodepoort also collapsed, and traffic was being diverted.
Other road closures included the Ndaba Street bridge at Mapetla Park in Protea South, and the Phakoe Street bridge in Naledi.
News24 reported on Monday that City of Johannesburg Public Safety MMC David Tembe said the storm on Friday, 9 December was the worst of the recent downpours.
He added that Emergency Management Services (EMS) officials were inundated with reports from all parts of the city.
In Klipspruit, Soweto, 11 houses were destroyed, affecting 73 residents.
In neighbouring Dobsonville, 10 homes, including shacks, were reportedly destroyed, leaving 48 people without shelter. In Meadowlands, next to Dorothy Nyembe, 52 houses were swept away, while 42 shacks were destroyed in Matholesville, 11 in Doornkop, and seven in Tshepisong.
A total of 339 people were affected by floods on Friday and Saturday, while 269 structures, including houses and shacks, were swept away.
Some homes in Johannesburg were also left without electricity for several days as City Power technicians battled to clear the backlog caused by the heavy rain.
Areas that were hit the hardest were the larger Roodepoort area, Hursthill, Northcliff and Lenasia, where infrastructure was severely damaged by flooding.
Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse has since submitted an urgent request to Eskom for a three-day load shedding exemption. Eskom said this request was under review.
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