A file picture of a river flowing over a bridge in Centurion. Picture: African News Agency (ANA)
Pretoria - The Tshwane Emergency Services is continuously monitoring flooding hot spots after heavy rain ravaged sections of the capital city on Wednesday, particularly Centurion.
These areas include Hendrik Verwoerd Road, Rooihuiskraal Road, Uitsig Road, Nellmapius Drive and Panorama Road.
Tshwane Emergency Services spokesperson Roland Hendricks said yesterday that despite the heavy rain in most parts of the capital this week, no major incidents, rescues or loss of life were reported.
This month the city has been experiencing high rainfall resulting in localised floods affecting various communities, including Hammanskraal and Onverwacht near Cullinan.
The MMC for Social Development and Community Services, Peggy de Bruin, said Tshwane had assisted more than 400 families affected by flash floods, and had 16 families in community halls following damage in their homes.
The heavy rain also caused flash floods in Centurion.
City of Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the presence of dolomite, most probably activated by heavy rains, was behind the formation of sinkholes across Centurion.
However, Hendricks said part or the reason for the sinkholes was that flash floods as a result of extreme rainfall sometimes exceeded the capacity of infrastructure such as stormwater drainage to deal with the resulting run-off.
This led to flash-floods or general flooding of low-lying areas.
Last week, the South African National Roads Agency enlisted the services of experts to assess the massive sinkhole along the N1 in Centurion, which resulted in the closure of one lane just as traffic was retuning to normal after the festive season.
Various parts of South Africa have been experiencing heavy rain after the International Research Institute for Climate and Society issued a La Niña advisory last month, in which it said South Africa was set to receive more rain than expected over the summer months.
Pretoria News
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