IN PICTURES | Heavy rains, flooding cause chaos across Gauteng

Heavy rains in Johannesburg have caused a massive sinkhole‚ knocked over trees and driven flood-hit residents out of their homes.

The City of Johannesburg said on Thursday night that roads all over the city had been affected as well as informal settlements. Emergency services are on high alert.

Johannesburg EMS spokesman Nana Radebe told eNCA that it had been a “hectic” night and several families from Diepsloot had to abandon their homes and spend the night at the local fire station.

The South African Weather Service had earlier in the week warned of localised flooding in Gauteng‚ KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State.

More rain is expected on Friday over Gauteng‚ the Free State‚ parts of the North West‚ Mpumalanga and Limpopo. Johannesburg will be cool with a maximum temperature of 19 degrees.

The City of Joburg issued a warning to residents in flood-prone areas: “Do not drive over water.”

Rob Beezy tweeted a warning about a massive sinkhole in the road leading to Valhalla from the R55 in Gauteng.

As the rain pelted down, causing severe traffic delays throughout the city, residents and motorists took to twitter to share pictures: