Ashley Van De Kerk
Areas in Johannesburg, Midrand suffered the effects of a heavy hailstorm that left serious amounts of damage to unsheltered cars and flooded houses in parts of Marlboro and Soweto.
Residents of the affected areas took to social media to share the amount of carnage that was left behind by the downpour of the hailstorm, other motorists who were caught in the middle of the storm were left stuck on the N1 road.
Johannesburg Emergency Services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said no serious injuries were recorded, but onl one patient was taken to a hospital after facing injuries. Most of the damage was recorded on property, especially cars,
“Yesterday there were a number of incidents reported, mostly in affected areas like Braamfontein, Marlboro and Soweto. We are just happy that we didn’t have any major medical emergencies, we just had one patient who was treated for minor injuries in Soweto.
“We also had to assist some households in Marlboro whose houses were flooded but so far, we don’t have any major incidents which we had reported throughout the city of Johannesburg. We still remain on high alert monitoring most of the reports coming in,” he said.
He further emphasized that most of the reports that came in were to damaged property, in terms of cars and parking bays, traffic delays and flooding.
Mr Mulaudzi encouraged the residents of Johannesburg to stay away from river streams as they will be dangerous at this time.
“Most of the areas reported the damage to their vehicles and parking bays. The river stream in our city should have high water levels and we are encouraging our residents to monitor their kids to stay away from those water sources to avoid any accidents.
“Im qlso encouraging those who conduct water-related business to avoid crossing the river streams when going about their day-to-day business. As the EMS we are encouraging motorists to be cautious on the roads as most parts might still be covered in hail or flooded,” he said.
There have been warnings from the Meteorological Services Department that there will be more severe and heavy storms to be encountered during the course of this week in the country and it has warned citizens to be cautious and to stay safe.
Meanwhile, in parts of Mpumalanga, a tornado was sighted along Bethal and Standerton which led to a rigorous downpour which left flooding in its wake.
