Here are some guidelines for parents and responsible persons:
1. At home and on business premises:
• Empty all containers in and around the house including bathtubs, buckets, and containers lying around.
• Ensure that you turn these containers upside down at all times.
• Shelter unguarded ponds, pools, fountains and keep pit toilet doors locked for toddlers and minors who wander around.
• Do not leave pit toilets open while under construction.
Also read: Limpopo dams remain stable this week
2. Dams, steams, and rivers:
• Municipalities, tribal authorities, community leaders, and construction companies are advised to cover all trenches and unused ditches as they fill with rainwater very quickly and pose a danger.
• When low-level bridges are covered by the flooding water, do not cross. Use alternative routes, the bridge might have been swept away and it might not be visible.
• Do not cross heavily flooding rivers and streams from one place to the other on foot.
• Children must not swim in dams, streams, and rivers unsupervised. The high risk of mud, rocks, and trees below the water surface can lead to drownings.
• Parents or guardians must ensure a child’s safety at all times, especially on rainy days.
• Be vigilant and careful when fishing in dams and rivers.
• Children must not be allowed to fish in dams and rivers without supervision.
• Be careful of crocodiles when visiting dams or rivers.
• Children must avoid playing sport during a storm.
• Be vigilant and careful when practicing religious activities in rivers and dams.
(Compiled by Col Moatshe Ngoepe, the Limpopo police spokesperson.)
