The flash floods which hit Johannesburg yesterday may be over, but the damage they caused can still be clearly seen in northern parts of the city.
One instance of the havoc caused by the rain was the flooding of the R55 in Kyalami. The part of the road which crosses the Jukskei River was severely affected when the rain caused the river to flood, which resulted in debris from the waterway being dumped onto the road.
“The R55 was subsequently closed to public use from 11pm last night until 8.30am this morning,” said Annette Deppe, Ward 132 councillor.
“I believe this was the first time that the Jukskei has flooded [here] in 43 years. Myself and a few community members were on the road to try and fix the damage, which was quite chaotic. We could not get anyone [from Metro police or the provincial government] to help until 10.45pm.”
Deppe eventually enlisted the help of the Midrand Community Policing Forum (CPF) and eventually Metro police in order to close off the road before any accidents occurred.
“Fortunately, the Waterfall Management Company agreed to send out a contractor from the Labucon Construction company with a backhoe loader, which we could use to clear some of the debris.
“I want to say that without the assistance of residents, the Midrand CPF, Metro and Labucon, there may have been fatalities on the road last night, and so they deserve a big thank you.”
The R55 was not the only road affected by the flooding.
Witkoppen Road, particularly the part of it outside the Douglasdale Police Station, was also impacted, with only one of its lanes open to traffic, as the other was waterlogged for part of the morning.
