Flood-affected hostel residents to be temporarily housed in community hall

The City of Joburg MMC for Human Settlements Mlungisi Mabaso says they are working to secure a community hall to temporarily house more than 300 families displaced by flash floods at Nancefield hostel in Soweto.

Some of the residents had to be accommodated by their neighbors after the water raged through their homes, causing extensive damage to their belongings. Mabaso has visited the families and promised to assist.

“I had been in communication with the MMC responsible for all our public facilities in the City to make them available to house some of those that might require such intervention. So we are putting something together and we are working with Disaster,” Mabaso explains.

More than 300 families at the Nancefield Hostel in Soweto are assessing their losses after their personal belongings and homes were damaged by floods on Friday afternoon.https://t.co/611YdQKpUC pic.twitter.com/WxZIVR1ANT

— SABC News (@SABCNews) November 12, 2022

Weather conditions around SA 

Recent weather conditions have affected a number of households in the O.R Tambo district municipality in the Eastern Cape.

This includes damages to Gungululu Clinic in Mhlontlo, while the roofs of some households were blown away. The municipality’s spokesperson Zimkitha Macingwana says emergency services remain on high alert.

“We do urge members of the community to continuously exercise caution whenever we experience these weather conditions. We must also urge people to be extra vigilant when crossing flooded rivers. Even motorists are urged not to cross the flooded river and to report any incident relating to road damage so that we can activate our disaster management and risk management teams to respond in such incidents,” said Macingwana.

Video – Flooding at Soweto hostel exacerbated by dam burst: 

Rain in the Free State

Business owners in Bethlehem, Free State, have raised concerns about the poor drainage system in the town.

They say it is partly to blame for flooding whenever it rains. Various shops including the Sechaba Mall in the city centre were flooded yesterday and businesses had to close. Some business owners are still mopping their shops following flash floods in the town.

Video – Emergency Services in Gauteng monitoring possible flooding in low-lying areas: Robert Mulaudzi: 

“The drains are not being kept in maintenance and they are not cleaned at all the water dams up there’s no space where the water goes.  And all the water dams in front of all the shops here and it caused a big problem because it goes inside the shop and we have to clean and just mud everywhere. 2. The problem here is that the sewerage channels or drains are blocked so the rain that falls from the top of the town comes down in the sewerage pipes and it blocks here and it starts overflowing here.”

Business owners in Bethlehem, Free State, have expressed concern about the town’s poor drainage system. It is said to be a contributing factor to flooding whenever it rains.https://t.co/1sopRCLhCf pic.twitter.com/wUB1DRXm1a

— SABC News (@SABCNews) November 12, 2022