Photo: Kristja Zeelie/Facebook
Several roads were closed due to flooding, fallen trees obstructing traffic, accidents and collapsed roads in parts of Pretoria on Friday morning, Pretoria North Rekord reports.
Heavy congestion on major roads caused several hours’ delay for motorists.
READ MORE: Chaos as flooding overwhelms parts of Gauteng
The road to Valhalla from the R55 collapsed, causing damage to several vehicles.
In Centurion, on the N14 East near the R511, several motorists were left stranded with flat tyres after hitting the massive potholes in the road.
A bus collision on Es’kia Mphahlele near the bridge in Mountain View caused heavy delays.
Best Care ambulance service spokesperson Xander Loubser said 33 people had to be taken to hospital.
More flash floods were reported north of Pretoria. The flooding of the corner Lavender Avenue and Old Warmbad brought traffic to a halt.
Several other roads near the Apies River were also in danger of being flooded.
Traffic alert groups tweeted that the Apies River’s water levels were rising dangerously, urging all motorists to avoid low water bridges.
Watch the video of the Apies River’s water levels rising:
Road closures in Atterbury between Windsor Road and Justice Mahomed Street caused delays in the east of Pretoria.
A fallen tree in Annie Botha Avenue in Riviera also caused traffic congestion.
Tshwane emergency services reminded all motorists to take extra care and avoid flooded roads.
“All low water bridges in Pretoria have been closed,” said Tshwane emergency services spokesperson Johan Pieterse.
Ward 82 councillor Siobhan Muller warned motorists to avoid Soutpansberg Road.
“A tree fell on a car close to Parker Street and the road is closed in both directions,” she said.
Flash floods in Nellmapuis Drive.
Photo: Facebook
City spokesperson Selby Bokaba said that a team of technicians and electricians were deployed in areas affected by outages.
He explained that they have to take special precautions due to the unfavourable weather conditions, but that they will update customers as soon as the areas are switched back on.
“We would also like to take this opportunity to apologise to all our consumers affected by the power outages for the inconvenience caused,” Bokaba said.
Photo: Kristja Zeelie/Facebook
Emergencies can be reported to Tshwane emergency services on 10177 or 012-310-6300/6400.
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