Flash floods wreck Jozi suburb

Pandemonium erupted early yesterday morning when a flash flood struck a Johannesburg suburb.

The Klein Jukskei River burst its banks at 1am, sending a 3m wall of water tearing through homes in Malanshof in Randburg.

While some residents escaped with their children on their shoulders, others were trapped by the rising waters and had to smash their ceilings to scramble onto their roofs and await rescue.

ER24 spokesman, Russell Meiring, said its paramedics had assisted at least 20 families.

He said: "It was total devastation. The waters were so strong that cars and caravans were washed hundreds of metres away."

He said when paramedics arrived in the suburb there was total panic.

"Houses and property were destroyed. Possessions were floating in the river or missing. You could see how scared people were. Several families had to break through their ceilings to escape the rising waters.

"Paramedics found cars that had been washed away as well as caravans."

He said while no one was injured, paramedics treated several people for shock.