About 269 structures, houses and shacks, were swept away and 339 people were affected by floods between December 9 and 10, City of Johannesburg (CoJ) public safety MMC David Tembe reported on December 12.

"December, in particular, saw some residents of Joburg go through very difficult conditions. Emergency Management Services were inundated with reports coming from all parts of the city, including vehicles submerged, people trapped on roofs, collapsed walls, and shacks and houses decimated, leaving little to salvage," he said.

Region D has been highly impacted and in Klipspruit, Soweto, 11 houses were destroyed and 73 people affected. In neighbouring Dobsonville, ten houses including shacks were reported to have been destroyed, leaving 48 people destitute. Further, 52 houses also got swept away in Meadowlands, next to Dorothy Nyembe, 42 shacks at Matholesville, 11 in Doornkop and seven were destroyed in Tshepisong, he highlighted.

Other areas that also experienced flooding were Protea North, Braamfischerville and Princess informal settlement, Eldorado Park, Orange Farm, parts of Main Reef road and Alexandra.

"It was all-hands-on-deck as Public Safety deployed boots on the ground to ensure there were rescue teams to evacuate people that were trapped. Johannesburg Metro Police, Swift water technicians, and teams from the Johannesburg Road Agency also did their bit in assisting those that were severely in need," Tembe said.

Further, although the flooding incidents were not declared a disaster, the CoJ Disaster Management Centre created a hybrid Joint Operation Centre to monitor and assess the situation, and also facilitate relief. This is a multi-disciplinary team that involves Housing, City Power, Social Development, Johannesburg Road Agency and other significant entities, he noted.

Meanwhile, the situation in Setswetla, Alexandra, is an unfavourable one.

"Our recent visit with CoJ mayor Mpho Phalatse and other members of mayoral committee painted a picture of a community in distress. The building of shacks on river banks persists, rendering residents vulnerable and in danger of being swept away by raging floods at any given time.

"We will never shy away from the responsibility of keeping people safe. But we also need communities to play their part in ensuring that they adhere to water safety measures that the department has put in place. It is only through working together that we can really make a difference in the communities we live in," Tembe emphasised.

"We were saddened to learn about the recent tragedy that involved members of the Masowe Church the preceding weekend, where 14 people lost their lives, among them women and children.

"As the city, we respect and acknowledge religious practices. The right to exercise one’s faith, and freely, is enshrined in the Constitution. It is with this in mind that we appeal to religious leaders and church goers to find alternative ways to conduct their rituals," he said.

Further, the CoJ calls on ward councillors to assist in ensuring that communities are educated, that churches are compliant, and children are supervised and protected at all times. 

The search and recovery operation for the missing three-month-old baby is still continuing, he added.

"The need to achieve the 2030 climate change agenda for sustainable development is now more important than ever. If not properly facilitated, the city will experience destruction of infrastructure, mass casualties and fatalities; leaving communities destitute," Tembe said.