Heavy rains accompanied by misty conditions in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni resulted in more than 80 accidents on Monday, according to metro police and emergency services.
Ekurhuleni emergency services spokesperson Kobedi Mokhoseng said the three regions that make up his area saw 80 accidents between 6am and 6pm. Twenty-seven people were slightly injured, two seriously injured, and one woman was killed when she was knocked over by a bakkie.
According to the driver the woman ran out in front of him on the corner of Leeuwpoort and Da Gama streets in Boksburg. Police are investigating a case of culpable homicide.
Sixteen of the accidents, in which two people were slightly injured, took place in northern Ekurhuleni, which includes Kempton Park, Edenvale and Isando.
Thirty accidents, in which 19 people were slightly injured, took place in eastern Ekurhuleni which includes Benoni, Springs and Brakpan.
The rest of the accidents took place in the southern areas of Alberton, Boksburg and Germiston.
Johannesburg experienced at least six road accidents as a result of heavy fog in the 30 minutes after 6am, said metro police spokesperson Wayne Minnaar.
Two of the accidents reported were serious, Minnaar said. One was in Impala Road in Protea Glen and the other on the corner of Calvin and Stockwell roads in Nancefield.
Mpumalanga
Meanwhile, in areas of Mpumalanga, disaster-management teams have been dispatched to minimise the effects of possible flooding after heavy rains.
A spokesperson for the provincial local government and housing department, Simphiwe Kunene, said the disaster-management team will also determine if any disaster-relief aid should be sent to the area.
The team has been sent to Daggakraal, Wakkerstroom and Amersfort in Pixely Ka Seme municipality and Standerton in Lekwa municipality.
Tents have also been sent to Seme municipality in case some families might need shelter, said Kunene.
While there is no flooding at the moment, water levels in Standerton’s Grootdraai Dam are rapidly rising and the dam is almost at 100% capacity. This follows heavy rains in the area since about Saturday.
Similar heavy rains in Standerton last year caused flooding, with some streets being inaccessible, said Kunene.
”The department has also instructed all municipalities to be on full alert and on standby and to warn families in low-lying areas to move to higher ground,” he said.
Heavy rains are predicted for the next 24 hours in Nelspruit, Lydenburg, Badplaas and Groblersdal.
The local government and housing department has advised communities to take certain precautions in the event of flooding. Before crossing a river, either on foot or in a vehicle, people should check whether water levels are rising and should someone be in a flooding vehicle, they should abandon it.
”Schoolchildren are warned to be extra cautious when walking to school and crossing low-level bridges,” said Kunene. — Sapa