Pretoria - Tshwane Emergency Services have called off their search and rescue operation for seven people believed to have been swept away by the flash floods on Monday morning in Centurion.
Spokesperson for the Tshwane Community Safety Department, William Baloyi, said: "We decided to call off the search and rescue operation yesterday after the drowning of one of our members.
"We were working on the information we received from the man we rescued from flooding. He claimed that there were seven people in front of him before he was swept away by the floods.
"Since there have been no cases of missing persons lodged at our metro police or the South African Police Services, we all agreed that until such time a case is lodged, we will resume with the search and rescue operation."
Meanwhile, the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality is on high alert as heavy rains continue to cause flash floods within its area of jurisdiction.
The metro's spokesperson, Zweli Dlamini, said: "Our Emergency Services and Disaster Management teams have put together response plans, including placing the swift water rescue crew on standby in case there is a need to call the team into action."
Dlamini said metro officials were monitoring forecasts from the weather bureau and assessing areas prone to flooding on an hourly basis.
Furthermore, the municipality is helping with the provision of emergency shelter and relief material to communities affected by flooding.
Last December, executive mayor, Mondli Gungubele, put in place a team of councillors and officials to identify flooding hot spots in the region and come up with possible solutions to the problem.
The team, led by members of the mayoral committee, recently concluded its task and will be submitting a report to the executive mayor in the next few days.
Ekurhuleni residents are advised to contact the metro's emergency call centre on (011) 458-0111 or toll free 10177 in the event of any flooding emergency.
The National Disaster Management Centre number is 012 336 5742 or 10177
Yesterday, government said it was to declare a national state of disaster in Gauteng, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North West, Northern Cape and Limpopo. The floods have so far caused damage estimated at R356 million.
