The storm was so severe that it uprooted at least four trees; three in Ward 66 and one in Cumberland Drive in Ward 118.
The Ward 66 councillor, Clr Carlos da Rocha, expressed his concerns about the way the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) handled the situation, saying some residents struggled to get through to the call centre.
He said residents called him and he managed to contact the tree felling contractor on duty for emergencies.
“At least two trees fell on top of houses. One tree fell on the main gate and roof of one house, trapping people inside as they were unable to move their cars. The other tree fell on top of a house while the owner was out of town,” said Clr Da Rocha.
“Because of the severity of the storm, the contractor was extremely busy across Johannesburg, clearing trees that had fallen across streets. I can understand that. I can also understand that the ideal would be to remove any obstructions or dangerous situations, and to then move onto the next job. But then I expect the contractor to come back the next day and start clearing the trees and tidying up. Unfortunately, this was not the case,” said Clr Da Rocha.
He said one resident contacted him two days after the fact to complain that the trunk of the tree was leaning dangerously towards the wall.
“The insurance pointed out to the resident that they would not commence repairs until the tree trunk was removed and made safe,” he said.
“I then put in a request with City Parks to send the contractor out to clear the debris, as the trunk was in a dangerous position. The pavement was blocked due to tree debris that covered the pavement,” said Clr Da Rocha.
According to Clr Da Rocha, the following day City Parks sent the contractor out to clear up. The contractor simply cut the tree trunk in half and left things as they were.
The City Parks spokesperson, Ms Jenny Moodley, said it takes 14 working days to clear up the trees after a storm, but because there was a lot of rain during the festive period, and chipper trucks being in demand and not easily available, it has taken longer to clear up some areas.
“City Parks would like to apologise to residents for the time it has taken to clean up. However, the first clean up phase of cutting the branches has been completed and now we have to remove the trunks,” said Ms Moodley.
