At least five people were rescued from flooded rivers in a rainy Gauteng and dozens of roads were closed, officials said on Monday.
Emergency management services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said two men and a woman were rescued from a stream in flood in Naledi, Soweto, on Monday by local residents.
The three had been swept away by a strong current as they were trying to cross the river.
Tshwane emergency services spokesperson Johan Pieterse said two men were rescued from the Jukskei river in Centurion. One of them was found sitting in a tree and the other was found underneath the Gautrain bridge.
How the men got swept into the river was unclear, Pieterse said. They were taken to a nearby hospital.
A number of accidents, including a light aircraft crash at Lanseria airport that killed three people on Monday, were in part attributed to the heavy rains and the flooding it caused.
Johannesburg Metro Police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said between 6am and 11am on Monday there had been 52 road accidents, eight resulting in injuries.
Around 1pm a 10-ton truck overturned when it drove through a pool of water on the N12 west.
Minnaar said emergency workers helped out when a car got stuck on a low-level bridge linking Kliptown and Klipspruit West earlier in the day.
Roads closed
Dozens of roads in Gauteng were closed due to flooding on Monday, officials said, including routes in Dobsonville, Dube, Meadowlands, Orlando West, Diepkloof and Industria West and North.
Low lying bridges were flooded in Mofolo Central, Mofolo Park, Orlando West, Meadowlands and Moroka.
Motorists were also warned there was significant damage to the road surface at the intersection of Peter Place and Braam Fischer Drive in Bryanston.
A number of roads in Centurion were also closed due to flooding on Monday, Tshwane Metro police said.
Mulaudzi said emergency services would help evacuate areas affected by flooding. "We will be monitoring areas such as Alexandra, Diepsloot and Ivory Park," he said.
Weather starting to ease
The South African Weather Service said heavy rain in and around Johannesburg would start to ease off from Tuesday morning.
"Today we are expecting an 80% chance of rain, on and off, through to [Tuesday] morning," forecaster Bongani Chibi said.
Thereafter only isolated showers were expected until Thursday. The wet weather, which caused flooding in parts of Johannesburg, was caused by a tropical low weather system.
Chibi said it was difficult to predict whether Gauteng would have more heavy rains of this nature before winter. "Until the end of April, there is still a chance." – Sapa