JOHANNESBURG – At least six people were killed on Wednesday with many families left destitute when floods striked the north of Johannesburg and some parts of Ekurhuleni.
Motorists had no choice but to desert their vehicles and watch them being swept away by the floods, while others were involved in the terrific situation screaming with anguish. “People have had to climb out of their cars and stand on roofs because the water was at window level. This is a bad, bad situation,” said Joburg metro police department spokesperson Edna Mamonyane. Emer-G-Med spokesperson Maxwell Cohen said in a statement, “Over 150 cars were affected with at least 10 pushed off the highway and down an embankment and completely submerged,” adding that around 2km of the highway was affected by flash floods.”
With heavy rain causing flooding it is important to equip yourself with safety tips to drive through the floods and avoid an expensive insurance claim. During floods cars can be the most vulnerable, depending on the model of the car others can get through the floods while others can be stuck. There is the risk of the engine sucking in water and since the engine connects all the electric rods of the car, this can cause smashing of connecting rods and resulting in the car not to be able to move, while water will quickly move in through the car with you inside.
According to the South African Weather Service, the Gauteng province should expect more rain. These are some of the tips that can be useful when in a flood: 1. Keep first gear,the lowest in a set of gears on a car and make your way slowly out of the water. 2. Stay on the center part of the road. 3. The breaks take loads of tension when driving in the flood and therefore might consume high amounts of water. When you move away from the water, dry the brakes by using them gently. 4. Accelerate and try to keep water out of the engine. Gauteng Development Agency released a statement, “Families will be relocated to other areas. In the meantime, they will be taken to churches as more rain is expected” People took to social media to express their condolences on the floods, among them was @KhaliQakaSyd, who said he cannot presently worry about American presidency when people in Joburg are experiencing #FlashFloods losing valuables and urged all South Africans to all assist. Here how Twitter reacted:
-IOL
