Tshwane emergency services chased away by flood-hit Mamelodi residents

Tshwane emergency services were working around the clock at the weekend providing assistance in flood-hit areas, with one person still missing after being swept away by floodwaters.

Emergency vehicles and helicopters were dispatched to several areas, including Eerste Fabriek in Mamelodi where about 60 people who sought refuge on their rooftops refused to be evacuated. 

“Two SAPS choppers conducted an aerial assessment of the area and identified about 60 people on rooftops of their dwellings. The people, however, when the members of the SAPS and rescue teams tried to evacuate them, hauled insults at the teams and threw objects at them,” Tshwane emergency services spokesperson deputy chief Charles Mabaso said.

Mabaso said when rescue efforts were called off for the day on Saturday, the situation at Eerste Fabriek had been handed over to the community leaders.

“By the end of the business day, there had not been feedback in terms of if the people agreed to be evacuated.

“During the day we withdrew our mobile command centre to the municipal office in Mamelodi after seeing that the situation around there is starting to become volatile. And we left it to the leaders to engage the people and we indicated that should there be an agreement, we will then move in to assist those people,” Mabaso said.

The EMS department said it responded to multiple flooding incidents on Saturday.

Mabaso said the flooding affected households in Eersterust, Mamelodi (informal settlements), Gomora in Pretoria West, Soshanguve Block KK, Onverwacht in Cullinan, Hammanskraal and Marikana in Centurion.

Ten people including three children were rescued from a vehicle stuck on a low-water crossing on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, the search for a missing person suspected to have been swept away by floodwaters in Hammanskraal will resume on Sunday morning.

Mabaso said there were no other incidents of flooding reported during the night as the rain subsided.

He called on families suspecting that a loved one may be missing to register a case with the SAPS.

“The Tshwane emergency services department is continuously monitoring the situation and remains in a state of readiness,” he said.