NELSPRUIT – The Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) in Mpumalanga would like to warn all residents of the province to be on alert as rains continue to pour through out the province. Reports from the South African Weather Services show that rains are expected to continue for the next few days in most parts of the province.
The department has instructed all municipalities to activate their local joint operations Committees (JOC) and be on full alert and on standby. The rains can result in an increase of dam and river levels thus making small streams and rivers very dangerous. People in low lying areas are advised to move away from river banks and they must avoid crossing full rivers and over flowing bridges.
Disaster management teams are currently conducting assessments of the damages that have been caused by the rains. Preliminary reports indicate that there have been damages in the areas of Thaba Chweu, Nkomazi, Mbombela, Bushbuckridge, Umjindi , Mkhondo and Chief Albert Luthuli. These damages have been largely to houses where roofs were blown off. Some of the houses have been repaired and where they have not, tents have been provided to the affected families. Food parcels have also been provided to the affected families. 7 seven fatalities have been reported. The Provincial Government is providing assistance to the affected areas.
The Department together with the Department of Water affairs is monitoring the river flows and dam levels. A number of accidents have been reported due to the bad weather and motorists are urged to be extremely cautious on the roads as they are wet and rocks might have fallen in some areas. Motorists are also urged not to drive through flowing water and over flowing bridges.
In case of any possible flooding residents are advised to call the Disaster Management Toll free number 0800-202-507.
