Pretoria The heavy rains that have lashed Pretoria since Wednesday could prove problematic for both motorists and pedestrians as rivers break their banks and potholes fill up.
The South African Weather Service yesterday said the greater metro region had received almost 60mm of rain by yesterday afternoon, and this was set to continue.
Forecaster Tawana Dipuo said they were monitoring the weather and would continue to update residents, especially those in affected areas.
“We are expecting the rain to continue and have issued a warning for heavy rainfall that might lead to localised flooding on some roads.”
She said residents of Pretoria should expect a 60% probability of rain today.
“Because of the saturated ground, the rainfall expected on Friday (today) into Saturday (tomorrow) will lead to localised flooding of low-lying bridges, road pooling in informal settlements in low-lying areas as well as floodplains,” she said.
As such, residents are warned to do all they can to keep themselves safe and to avoid areas that can become dangerous due to continuous rainfall.
There have been warnings of a chance of increased traffic as people will be using vehicles to travel to stay out of the rain.
Drivers have been advised to ensure that their vehicles are roadworthy to deal with slippery and wet roads.
Temperatures are expected to start rising on Sunday, with low levels of rainfall, Dipuo said.
As a result of the heatwave that hit Gauteng before the rain, water levels in a number of dams have decreased, the Department of Water and Sanitation said.
Spokesperson Hosia Sithole said the impression was that the heavy rains would be the answer to the decreasing water levels in dams.
“Yet this may not be the case. If the rain does not reach our catchment areas where water is collected for storage then we might still have a problem of low water levels in our dams,” he said.
Therefore, the department has called on the people of Gauteng to reduce their water consumption and use water wisely.
They are also urged to contact their local municipalities and report burst water pipes in their communities as a lot of water is lost this way.
The water levels in the Integrated Vaal River System, which supplies water to, among other areas, Pretoria and Johannesburg, is dwindling and could reach 50% if residents don't use this precious resource wisely.