Tshwane roads closed due to heavy rains and flooding: Here are the affected areas

The City of Tshwane has enforced road closures on Wednesday due to ongoing heavy rains and flooding in the area.

Road users are urged to avoid driving on low-lying water bridges during heavy rains and storms and to take precautions when driving in places that are likely to be affected by heavy rains.

When driving in wet weather, drivers are advised to avoid speed, switch on headlamps and drive cautiously.

Closed roads on Tuesday

• Blackwood Street
• Lyttleton Street
• Soutter Street
• Apies River Bridge
• End and Rabie Street

Capital Park

• Flower Street as Eskia Mphahleke Drive

Service delivery backlog

The power supply in most parts of Tshwane‘s seven regions has been disrupted by continuous rainfall.

The city says that its technicians are overstretched due to the size of the network they need to cover and the number of outages experienced.

As a result, there is a massive restoration backlog worsened by the need to prioritise the safety of the technicians who are not permitted to work in rainy conditions. This includes pipe bursts that need welding. The city further assures residents that their team is always on standby to take advantage of attending to the outages whenever there is a pause in the downpours.

While the city of Tshwane apologises for the inconvenience caused, they emphasised that they are committed to accelerating power restoration to frustrated customers and appeals for patience while technicians strive to reduce the increasing backlogs in various areas.

The South African Weather Service issued an Orange level 5 warning on 16 February. This refers to disruptive rain that may lead to flooding of roads, bridges, and settlements, causing damage to property and infrastructure, and posing a risk to life.

This applies to Gauteng, in the north and along the coast and adjacent interior of KwaZulu-Natal, extreme south-eastern parts of the Eastern Cape, eastern parts of Fee State, North West, and the south-western parts of Mpumalanga.

ALSO READ: Batten down the hatches: Orange level 5 weather warning for Gauteng and other parts of SA

Heavy showers are expected to continue until Thursday, 20 February.

Motorists and pedestrians are urged to be cautious where roads are slippery or visibly affected.