Floods cause havoc after weekend rains

21 Jan 2013

Three children were killed in separate incidents when their homes collapsed during heavy rains in Limpopo over the weekend, authorities said on Sunday (20 January).

Vhembe district municipality spokesman Matodzi Mulaudzi said the municipality's disaster management team received the reports about the deaths of two boys and a girl on Sunday morning.

"A helicopter was sent to a house in Mutele D Village, where it was reported that a girl was killed after a house collapsed on her on," said Mulaudzi.

He said the municipality's disaster management team was unable to gain access to the village in their vehicles because Mutele River was overflowing.

Two other children were killed in two villages in Malamule.

Police spokeswoman Colonel Ronel Otto confirmed the death of two boys who were killed in two separate incidents when the homes they were living in collapsed.

Mpumalanga police spokesman Colonel Leonard Hlathi said three people were killed when lightning struck their houses in Piet Retief during heavy thunderstorms over the weekend.

Also in Mpumalanga, an eight-year-old boy was believed to have been swept away in Tonga and a 67-year-old woman died after her mud house caved in.

"The Tonga area near Komatipoort has been hardest hit by the bad weather in the province with three vehicles having been reported as being swept away by the Nkomazi River," said Hlathi.

These included a traffic department vehicle with an unknown number of occupants, an ambulance with two paramedics and a private car with two occupants inside it.

Hlathi said the paramedics were rescued by members of the police water wing.

"Two occupants in the private vehicle were rescued by members of the SA National Defence Force," he said.

KwaZulu-Natal provincial spokesman Lennox Mabaso said some roads had to be closed on Saturday (19 January) after heavy rains blocked several drainage systems in the northern parts of the province.

"A disaster management team was sent to eMpangeni to clear several roads where the water drainage systems were blocked," said Mabaso.

On Friday (18 January), 31 houses were flooded at Kanana in the North West, officials said.

Provincial spokesman Lesiba Kgwele said a disaster management team was assessing the damages.

Gauteng authorities said no serious incidents were reported in the province over the weekend.

Source: Sapa via I-Net Bridge

Source: I-Net Bridge

For more than two decades, I-Net Bridge has been one of South Africa’s preferred electronic providers of innovative solutions, data of the highest calibre, reliable platforms and excellent supporting systems. Our products include workstations, web applications and data feeds packaged with in-depth news and powerful analytical tools empowering clients to make meaningful decisions.

We pride ourselves on our wide variety of in-house skills, encompassing multiple platforms and applications. These skills enable us to not only function as a first class facility, but also design, implement and support all our client needs at a level that confirms I-Net Bridge a leader in its field.

Go to: http://www.inet.co.za