Emergency Management Services (EMS) spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi has urged residents to take the South African Weather Service’s warnings seriously.
“We have officially entered thunderstorm season. Residents are urged to listen to the radio, watch television, read newspapers and also follow the @CityofjoburgZA/@CityofjoburgEMS social media pages for the latest updates regarding Joburg weather.
“Following the previous incidents in which roads were flooded and vehicles were swept away by strong floods, we call on our motorists and residents to take the necessary safety precautions, especially those living in low-lying areas such as the informal settlements to monitor water levels and move to higher ground when there is a need to do so. Motorists are urged to reduce speed and drive with extra caution since most of our roads are wet and slippery,” said Mulaudzi.
“We therefore urge our residents to be better prepared, since we are told that we might have this persistent rainfall with localised flooding until Wednesday. This morning a number of roads were reported to have flooded, among them Witkoppen Road in Paulshof, and also Roosevelt Road in Alexandra, which we advise motorists to avoid.
“Our 28 fire stations throughout the city are fully operational and all our rescuers and disaster management officials will remain on high alert throughout the day and overnight, monitoring all our low-lying areas – especially our 189 informal settlements since they are the hardest hit when we have flooding. We want to make sure that we can respond as quickly as possible to any emergency which might occur,” he concluded.
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Flash floods and wet roads – tips