Most parts of the country continue to experience heavy rains and in Rustenburg in the North West, several roads have been closed because of flooding.
Authorities say passengers in two cars had to be rescued this morning on Westonia Road between Puma Garage Bethlehem Drive, after their vehicles were overwhelmed by floods.
Several streets in the town of Rustenburg have been flooded and the Municipal Public Safety Superintendent Amos Magasa has urged motorists to avoid roads with visibly high water levels and to take extreme care on the road as most streets are flooded.
“They should please avoid Kremetart Road, Westonia, Bethlehem Drive, Beyers Naude and the Waterfall Mall. We urge you to use alternative routes to avoid being stuck or being swept by the heavy water,” said Magasa .
Magasa said emergency services are monitoring all affected areas and will give out regular updates for motorists.
Emergency service teams have been deployed across the city to attend to stranded residents affected by the floods. Most traffic lights are not working due to increased power cuts which makes the situation unbearable for most motorists.
The SA Weather Services is predicting more downpours and warned that there will be flooding in several parts of the country.
In a statement, the Weather Services said: “The central and eastern parts of the country have experienced flooding in recent days and weeks due to a lot of rain brought about by the summer rainfall season. The ground in many of these places remains saturated and rivers and streams are running full.
“Under such conditions, a flash flood could be triggered quite easily and the public is therefore strongly urged to be extra vigilant. The latest severe weather event will be due to a cut off low (COL) pressure system, developing west of the country, and is expected to intensify from Saturday (10 December 2022) as it moves closer.
“The system will influence weather patterns over most parts of the country during the next five days, resulting in scattered to widespread showers and thundershowers in places. Severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall are likely, starting from the Northern Cape, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday, spreading to the Free State on Sunday, and reaching Free State, North West, Gauteng and Mpumalanga by Monday. Other hazards associated with this system are hail and lightning,” said the statement.
