Over the past weekend, residents experienced localised flooding in various parts of the city. While the skies have started to clear gradually, occasional rain has continued, leaving behind visible remnants of the downpours throughout Bloemfontein this past week.
The Member of the Mayoral Committee for Infrastructure Services, Councillor Vusi Soqaga, used social media to keep locals updated by posting clear-up progress and providing alerts in areas to avoid since the South African Weather Services (SAWS) issued a level 2 warning for Mangaung on 6 April.
Soqaga and his team worked tirelessly in the rain to drain water from the subway on Fort Road. This subway frequently floods during heavy rain. “We experienced a technical glitch in our system, hence the subway flooded. We had to work on unclogging the stormwater [system], which took us longer than we had anticipated,” he expressed.
Soqaga encouraged motorists to avoid the subway when it is closed. “Motorists just pass through the road barriers and end up in the water [mass], thus damaging their cars unnecessarily. What is sad is that most of the motorists are always under the ‘influence’ of something, making them ‘water blind’,” he said.
Meanwhile, floods across the city caused motorists like McDonald Makgoe and Lebogang Koekoe to be stranded on Monday (07/04) morning after they hit potholes in East End and Heidedal. Makgoe said that this is nothing new as it happened to him before. Koekoe mentioned that he did not see the pothole as it was filled with water.
Bergman resident Vuyi Mzondi had little to no access to her home during the flood, much like other houses in the area. She explained that she had to use bricks to walk around in her yard and zinc sheets to direct water away from her house.
According to Manguang Metro spokesperson Qondile Khedama, the city’s stormwater drainage system could not handle the downpour as the infrastructure was not developed to carry such a volume of water in such a short period. “We also acknowledge that catchpits are blocked, it should also be noted the volume of water assisted by cleaning debris in the pipeline,” he explained.
According to the SAWS in Bloemfontein, residents can expect the weather conditions to continue clearing up into the weekend.
Gypseenia Lion & Justine Fortuin
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