Pretoria – Tshwane Mayor Solly Msimanga on Friday paid tribute to the women and men employed in the city’s emergency services for their “sterling service” in the wake of the flash floods which hit parts of Gauteng this week.
Msimanga visited the Disaster Management Centre at Pieter Delport in Arcadia on Friday afternoon to inspect the state of readiness as further heavy rains are forecast for the capital city.
“One of the things coming out so far is that ours was a well prepared part of Gauteng. You really deserve a round of applause. Although we never had a big disaster, the fact that we had all our ducks in a row, we had communicated and had a proper plan…I want to congratulate the team. I want to thank all of you,” Msimanga said during a meeting with senior officials of the emergency services.
“Lives have been saved. Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni have not been as lucky. This first phase has prepared us. We call it a first phase because we are told more rains are coming. I’m very proud of this force that I call my own.”
Tshwane set up the multi-disciplinary operations centre on Wednesday in response to the current heavy rains. Further downpours are forecast by the SA Weather Service and might continue until Sunday.
At least six people died this week and many were left homeless in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni as flash floods wreaked havoc across the province. Numerous cars were washed away and several trapped commuters were rescued from their vehicles.
Msimanga appealed to members of the community to stay updated regarding weather patterns and to also keep storm water drains clear.
“We are expecting rain and we need to ensure that our storm water drains are clear. The system has to be clean. Our teams are out there trying to clean the storm water drain system but it doesn’t help when our people are the ones dumping things in there.
“I once saw a person dumping a whole pot of oil into the water drainage system. That attracts dirt and clogs up the system. We really need to know that out people are working with us. We cannot stop rains but we can avoid disasters.”
On Friday, the Tshwane Emergency Services spokesman Johan Pieterse said teams were widening the search for a woman whose car was found in the Apies River in Capital Park.
“The woman has not been found. We continue to search. The current is really strong at the moment. We are going to continue until dusk and we may have to continue again tomorrow morning,” said Pieterse.
African News Agency