Gauteng departments of Health and Infrastructure Development have jointly dispatched teams to intervene at health facilities, which have been affected by the heavy rains since Friday night. They’re trying to ensure that there’s minimal disruption to medical services.
So far, provincial health officials are aware of three institutions have been affected by the downpours.
The Accident and Emergency Department at the Helen Joseph Hospital has been flooded and a section of a ceiling has been compromised at the Rahima Moosa Hospital.
The weather has also led to challenges at the Zola community Health Centre in Soweto.
The department says as far as they’re aware no patients have been affected. They’ve warned though that flooding across the province may impact ambulance response times.
🔴BREAKING: #Flooding at Johannesburg’s Helen Joseph Hospital | 📸Supplied pic.twitter.com/0RhZU3Dtd0
— Gauteng Weather (@tWeatherSA) February 8, 2020
A blocked drainage system has led to flooding at the emergency section of the Helen Joseph Hospital.
Patients had to be temporarily moved to other wards, while new arrivals were taken to other nearby hospitals.
Acting CEO of the Helen Joseph Hospital Ronnie Masilela, says, “There was about four to five inches of water flooding the entire area, moving down the corridor. The flood blocked our drain – the drain that is outside our casualty. And the water, instead of going into the drain, started flowing into sections of the hospital. Fortunately, patients were not affected. There were no injuries sustained during this process and there was no loss of life.”
Tshwane Emergecency Services says they are monitoring the situation in around the capital after several areas that were flooded due to heavy rainfall and thunderstorms overnight.
Spokesperson for the Tshwane Emergecency Services, Charles Mabaso, says the storm water drains are being unblocked where they received calls of flooding and their disaster management team is on the ground to provide relief where necessary.
He says they are monitoring the situation in spite of water having subsided.
“We are on high alert and on standby for any additional incidents that may be reported. With the rain continuing, we understand that now the ground is very saturated and as such, any continued rain will increase chances of flooding. We will also make sure that any low areas that are troublesome are kept under spotlight.”
Meanwhile, Emergency Management Services spokesperson, Nana Radebe has urged road users to be vigilant on the roads and to keep a safe following distance.
Not only Gauteng has been affected by floods that followed heavy rainfalls. In Phuthaditjhaba and QwaQwa in the Free State, houses are flooded and some bridges are inaccessible.
Thabo Mofutsanyana Disaster Management spokesperson, Sthembiso Mthombeni, has appealed to residents to be extra careful when they approach low lying bridges.
“We also received the report of the house in Mabolela area. And the fire department are going there to assess the situation. Moreover, we’d also like to ask our community not to cross at the river. Where you can’t see the stones or anything like that don’t cross. Even if you know that there’s a bridge you might try to cross only to find that the bridge has been flashed away. So, we caution our people to move away or stay away from the rivers because they might drown in those rivers. So, this is our plea from the disaster management that they must stay away from the rivers.”
