The heavy rains on 9 November have caused flash floods in parts of Johannesburg, leaving a lot of people with severe damage to their properties.
Residents next to the Jukskei River in Buccleuch were also caught off guard by the torrent of water which left several homes and cars damaged.
On Bridge Road, two cars and boundary walls of houses were swept away. Derik and Riekie Swanepoel’s boundary wall was almost entirely washed away when the water level rose about two to three metres. Riekie said, “It was a frightening experience to see the river rise so high and cause the amount of damage it did. The force uprooted trees and carried them off effortlessly down river.”
She said that the river bank has been washed away by about five metres.
“A man in a Toyota Corolla was at the edge of the water and tried to make a U-turn when the water washed his car away. He was up to his chest in water when he got out,” she added.
“We were moving our valuables upstairs and eventually made the decision to leave the property in case the rest of wall came down.”
Derik said the insurance assessor was there and that they would be taking measures to secure their perimeter wall with razor wire and electric fencing until they can repair the wall.
The estimated cost of the damages is not known at this time.
Ward 32 councillor Bongani Nkomo said that they have set up communications with residents and they will be addressing security issues. “Our priority is to make sure the residents are safe.
“The bridge has been damaged by the floods and will need to be assessed before repairs can be made.” Nkomo further urged residents to take caution in events like this.
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