The damaging hailstorm on 30 December that took the lives of two people, may mean Joburg will be declared a disaster area after the massive destruction it caused.
The storm lifted roofs, ripped up trees and left many homeless.
Although the biggest damage was caused in the southern and western areas of the city, Executive Mayor Herman Mashaba has again summoned multiple stakeholders to decide on interventions.
Mashaba said the City of Johannesburg and provincial government have already agreed on a number of interventions to provide relief to residents affected by the hail damage.
“It has come to our attention that additional areas [including] Tshepisong, Thembelihle, Alexandra, Maria Lewis, Protea Glen extensions and Braamfischerville were also highly impacted,” said Mashaba.
A preliminary report, containing a comprehensive damage analysis as well as response and relief efforts and actions, will be released early in January.
Herein, the mayor will see the full extent of the damage caused and whether the event needs to be declared a provincial or local disaster.
“The meeting today [2 January] took a decision to explore the possibility of declaring the City a disaster area, pending the quantification of the damage.
Further to this, the City’s Group Risk Advisory Services will also conduct an investigation into the quality of buildings which collapsed as a result of the storm,” Mashaba said.
Hours before the storm hit central Joburg, the South African Weather Service issued a warning of severe thunderstorm, hail and a possible tornado. By 5pm the tornado warning for Gauteng had ended.
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