The City of Johannesburg is preparing for possible flooding on Friday, Johannesburg emergency services said.
“The SA Weather Services has issued a prediction alert of between 60 to 80% chance of rainfall in the Highveld for Friday … that includes the City of Johannesburg,” said spokesperson Percy Morokane.
He said the city had set up a joint operations centre and a flood management task team which aimed to “prevent or reduce the risk of any major flood incident or disaster by identifying and prioritising hazards, and determining risks”.
He said awareness programmes had been set up throughout the city and specifically in flood-prone areas.
These areas include Klipspruit, Eldorado South, Dube, Mofolo, Meadowlands and Braamfischerville, some parts of Orange Farm, Lenasia South, areas around Florida Lake, Rivonia and Witkoppen Roads in Sunninghill, Stjwetla Informal Settlement along the Jukskei River, London Road in Alexandra, and the Kaalrivier in Ivory Park.
The two teams were aiming for “emergency preparedness, the most critical being the rapid and effective response including evacuations, thereby preventing fatalities”, Morokane said.
Another focus would be “post-disaster recovery and rehabilitation” which was “the efficient and effective distribution of relief material and the infrastructural reconstruction of basic and critical amenities”. – Sapa