Mop up operations are underway in various parts of the City of Joburg, following last night’s hailstorm that hit the city and other parts of the metro.
The hailstorm left a trail of destruction mostly in areas like Rosebank, Paulshof, Midrand, Braamfontein, Marlboro and most parts of Johannesburg.
Social media pictures showed damaged properties, localized flooding, and vehicles whose windscreens were damaged by hailstones the size of golf balls.
“The reports were mainly about the damage to the vehicles, there was an incident of flooded houses in Marlboro, and we managed to assist the families in draining the water together with the communities in the area.
There was an incident in Soweto where a lady fell into a drain. She was assisted by our paramedics from the Gauteng Emergency Medical Services.
She was later transported to the nearest healthcare facility for further medical care,” said Johannesburg Emergency Management Services spokesperson, Robert Mulaudzi.
He said they however didn’t receive major incidents and there were no fatalities or injuries due to the hailstorm.
According to Mulaudzi, their call center was inundated with calls from residents who expressed panic following the hailstorm.
Mulaudzi said parts of the Southern Sun Hotel in Rosebank were also affected, leading to the collapse of the roof.
“The people who were around the area were evacuated.
There were no injuries reported from people who were around the hotel itself,” explained Mulaudzi.
He added that they’re officials will remain on high alert monitoring most of all seven regions in the city of Johannesburg.
“We are urging our motorists out there to exercise caution while driving and our residents in low lying areas, especially informal settlements.
They must avoid crossing river streams and monitor children to stay away from those areas to prevent further incidents which might occur throughout the day,” appealed Mulaudzi.
Meanwhile, the South African Weather Service has warned residents of Gauteng and Mpumalanga that storms are expected to continue today.
