Flash Flooding Again

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The rainy season in Johannesburg and the surrounding region is September to May with December and January being the peak months for rain fall. Yesterday and today we had some heavy showers which resulted in localized flooding. These sudden down pours are expected especially in the afternoons and are known as highveld storms.

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This amount of water after a 30 minute rain storm should not cause any flooding.

I would not say the rain we experienced as being exceptionally heavy, but the aftermath was clear to see with roads being flooded. Not as bad as what we experienced in 2016 where over 15 cars were washed from the freeway into the Jukskei River and hundreds more left submerged. A friend of mine abandoned his car that day and had to swim to safety. The problem is not going to magically go away and this danger of a repeat performance is still there.

Surely common sense would tell you there is a problem with urbanization creating more run off water and that water needs somewhere to go. The flood water drains should be sufficient if they are working and maintained and they are not.

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Even the Gauteng Weather App tells you areas to avoid due to poor drainage which is all down to the drains being blocked full of rubbish. I am not sure if it is a cultural issue or a lack of education or just a mix of both as wherever there are masses of people there is litter strewn around on the ground. This is just a common site to see and that litter eventually ends up in the drainage system whether it is blown by the wind or carried by the water from the rain.

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Johannesburg is advertised as a world class African city which must say something about the standard of other African city's. Johannesburg has a very fragile under belly mainly due to municipality corruption which has lead to failed services. Not surprisingly if there is no budget to fix the traffic lights what chance is there of maintaining and cleaning the drainage system. The heavy rains will do that for them so why waste those funds even if it kills people and causes financial damage.

For all of us who own a home we know we have to maintain and clear the gutters from leaves and other debris otherwise rain water can back up and enter under the roof tiles. I was caught out yesterday as I had one sky light leaking and there must be leaves around the seal. Maintenance is an ongoing task and just because you cannot see the problem it does not mean it does not exist.

When you know how severe the problems are in Johannesburg when you see heavy rain you tend to know which routes to avoid because the dangers are real. Flash flooding can turn the free way into a raging river within minutes and only through having yourself or others witnessing this do you really understand how bad things are.