The City of Johannesburg says they have begun the process of declaring the explosion in the CBD a state of local disaster.
This after last Wednesday’s underground gas explosion ripped through a part of Lilian Ngoyi Street, resulting in one person being killed and 48 others injured.
Several vehicles were also damaged after the blast sent them flying into the air.
Progress report on the restoration efforts
City manager Floyd Brink says declaring a state of disaster is critical to allow the City to thoroughly assess the exact extent of the damage.
“In terms of our disaster management response, as a City we have now began the process of compiling a report to the provincial management centre through the disaster management centre in order for us to commence with the necessary legislative processes to declare a local state of disaster. The declaration of the disaster is critical in order for us to allow to assess the impact of the explosion on our infrastructure on the cost and rehabilitation of the infrastructure that must take place in that particular area.”
Brink says investigations into the exact cause of the underground gas explosion is yet to be determined.
“Investigations are still inconclusive on the cause of the explosion, what may have ignited the gas or the source of the gas in the underground tunnels. We continue to receive regular updates from the experts on site and are concurrently pushing to restore services and prepare for the rehabilitation of the road and the underground tunnels.”
