Hundreds of homes have been flooded in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, following heavy rains over the past few days, leaving residents devastated.
About 300 homes have been affected in Majaneng village and other areas in Hammanskraal.
Tshepo Seloga, 42, told Sowetan that they have never experienced such floods since he moved to Majaneng in 2007.
He said that it is fortunate that his children and girlfriend have gone home for the holidays.
“For a second, I thought the entire house will be flooded. I've never prayed this hard in my entire life,” said Seloga.
Some of the residents have been given shelter by neighbours whose homes were not affected by the flash floods.
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Many residents lost their belongings, including personal documents, furniture and clothes.
He said that since they had a serious water crisis in Hammanskraal, they always hoped that it would rain so that they could fill their water tanks with clean water.
“It is said that the rain damaged other people's homes. We plead with government to prioritise our well-being and health,” said Seloga.
Desmond Morewakgotla, 33, from Majaneng said that the situation in Majaneng village is just the tip of the iceberg.
“They have to consider the entire Hammanskraal area because the storm drainage system is one of the issues that are not spoken about when it comes to service delivery, until the floods come.
“There are many villages and squatter camps around Hammanskraal and I can't imagine what is happening in such places right now,” Morewakgotla said.
Elizabeth Mampane, 36, of Kanana, fears losing her job as she has not reported for work for the past two days.
“When there are heavy rains here, children don't go to school because the roads will be flooded. My life comes first but if I lose my jobs I won't be able to maintain my 3 daughters,” she said.
Mampane is a single parent and works at a supermarket as a cashier.
Members of the civic organisation Sanco said residents’ homes and shacks get flooded whenever it rains heavily.
Sanco’s Joseph Tshewane said there are no storm water drains in the area, adding that they have previously engaged with their local councillor but nothing has changed.
“This place has suffered lack of development for a long time. Today, it’s the result of this underdevelopment as people find themselves in the midst of the floods.
“If we can find a machine to suck the water out of the homes and also get a tractor to dig furrows to direct the water that’s all they need,” said Tshewane.
City of Tshwane MMC for human settlements Abel Tau visited the area on Monday alongside the MMC for social development Peggy de Bruin.
They helped clean some homes.
An 80% chance of rainfall was forecasted for parts of Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Free State, and North West from Monday.
Residents living near rivers and streams have been warned to be extra cautious.
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