Joburg residents warned of possible severe thunderstorms

Residents of Johannesburg have been warned of possible severe thunderstorms.

City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi urged residents to take warning messages seriously.

He said since it was thunderstorm season‚ residents should listen to the radio‚ watch television‚ read newspapers and also follow their social media pages - @CityofjoburgZA/@CityofjoburgEMS - for latest updates regarding Joburg weather.

"Following past incidents which left a number of roads flooded‚ vehicles being swept away by flash floods‚ houses and vehicles being damaged in most parts of the city‚ we call on our residents and motorists to take necessary safety precautions‚ especially those living in low lying areas like the informal settlements to monitor water levels and move to the higher ground when there is a need to do so‚" Mulaudzi said.

He said residents should be better prepared for storms‚ since they have received an alert from the South African Weather Services of possible severe thunderstorms‚ with heavy downpours and gusty winds throughout the city on Thursday.

"The City of Johannesburg Disaster Management together with the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services officials are on high alert and are monitoring all our low lying bridges. We are also monitoring 189 informal settlements throughout the city.

"We know that when we have wet weather conditions like this‚ they are the hardest hit. The disaster management centre is fully operational and monitoring teams have been dispatched to all 7 regions of the city to make sure that we can respond to any emergency which might occur as quickly as possible‚" Mulaudzi said.

- SowetanLIVE