A 10-year-old boy nearly lost his life after a wardrobe fell on top of him when a neighbour’s wall collapsed due to the flooding that caused devastation to the people of the Chicken Farm informal settlement in Soweto on Saturday.
A few streets away, a man identified by neighbours as Bongani, believed to be originally from Mozambique, lost his life when he was electrocuted while inside his one-room shack in the area.
The circumstances surrounding the real cause of death are still unknown, but neighbours believe Bongani was electrocuted by an appliance that came into contact with water from the heavy rain.
“We believe he was electrocuted. Those who last saw him have indicated that he had been trying to take the water out using a spade and, minutes later, the electricity went out.
“Only when his girlfriend started knocking endlessly did neighbours come to see what was happening. The girlfriend then asked for the men to help her unlock the doors and it was then that he was found lying on the floor with some bruises that suggest he was electrocuted,” said a neighbour who did not want to be named.
The mother of the 10-year old boy, Xoliswa Ntsinde, told The Star that she almost lost her son when a collapsing wall hit their two-room shack, causing the wardrobe to fall on her son.
Luckily, Lulama Ntsinde was with his older sibling, who called for help and the family was able to rescue him.
“We are lucky that he did not sustain severe injuries and that there was someone with him at the time of the incident. He was outside and rushed inside the house to flee the rain, only to be hit by the wardrobe,” the mother said.
Many of the affected people cleaned up their flooded homes. Many have lost personal items including books, fridges, stoves and television sets as well as clothing.
“I am forced to go back to Lulama’s school to get them to give us new books because all of his books have been damaged by the water,” Xoliswa said.
Other affected areas include Kliptown, Dlamini, Molapo, Eldorado Park and Rockville.
According to the mayor of Joburg, Kabelo Gwamanda, city officials are continuing with emergency relief work following the devastating floods that hit parts of Joburg on Saturday.
Gwamanda and his officials have set up a joint command centre at Maponya Mall where he has been receiving briefings aimed at bringing relief to the affected communities.
The mayor was briefed as early as 6pm on Saturday and a team of water technicians was already on the ground in anticipation of the heavy downpour. Once it started to rain, teams from Emergency Management Services, Disaster Management and the Johannesburg Roads Agency were dispatched on the ground.
According to city spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane, the Johannesburg Roads Agency has unblocked the affected stormwater drains.
“Our assessment also indicated that there are properties close to the river streams which necessitated that the environment and infrastructure services department is roped in to conduct a clean-up of the streams.
“The human settlements department is also on the ground, conducting an assessment of individuals who may be displaced as a result of the flooding.”
Modingoane added that Gwamanda had visited some of the affected areas to assess the damage.
The Star