Our water warriors

Unpredictable rainfall has led to widespread disaster, however, these weather patterns have also presented an opportunity for heroic community action.
Ward 103 councillor, Vincent Earp said, “During the floods, numerous walls collapsed, Belgrave Bridge overflowed with water and the destruction is widespread.”
On 9 November, during excessive rainfall, the Sandton Community Police Forum’s (CPF) Guardians Incident Management Unit responded to various calls for help from the Sandton community. The unit is a community-focused programme and focuses on what the community can offer during a crisis. It is aimed at creating a visible deterrent to criminals and is based on the principle that people within a community know better than anyone if something or someone is suspicious.

Anthony Modena, the chairman of the Sandton CPF said, “Our communities are the eyes and ears of the South African Police Service.”
Intense thunderstorms that resulted in flash floods in numerous regions in Sandton offered the aforementioned programme an opportunity to shine and come to the rescue.
These efforts were described as teamwork by Modena as the guardians unit was accompanied by the Sandton CPF, South African Police Services, The City of Johannesburg, security companies, towing companies, residents’ associations and numerous other organisations.
As a result of this group effort, there were zero lives lost.
Sandton resident and community roleplayer, Greg Sochen has been tasked by the forum with heading up the guardians programme.
Sochen highlighted, “Time is of the essence in any incident and by ensuring rapid and co-ordinated deployment of resources, the chances of mitigating losses and saving lives is greatly increased. Our first responders, including [the police and Metro]… often work under very challenging conditions and with limited resources and manpower.”
He believes that trained community members can assist these legal entities.
Modena explained that Sochen will visit each of the four sectors in Sandton to present and explain the programme and any residents who want to get involved can contact the forum for more information.
The Sandton CPF has various platforms where residents can share information regarding accidents and incidents after reporting to the relevant official channel.
Modena concluded, “Most importantly, please attend your local CPF community meetings and details are on our website and see how we are making a difference to your safety and security. Only by everyone being part of the solution, will there be change.”