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Friday, December 17, 2010

Hotel Basement Flooded

Heavy rain fell in and around Pretoria on Thursday, causing havoc and resulting in some flooded roads, such as Lenchen Street in Centurion, being closed.
A Mabopane man had to be rescued after he was trapped in raging waters for nearly five hours. The basement of the Centurion Lake Hotel was flooded, leaving several cars damaged.
The heavy rain also washed out the Armed Forces Day parade scheduled for the Thaba Tshwane Sports Grounds on Thursday.
The display by different components of the SANDF, which was to include a fly-past, a 21-gun salute and salute flight - were cancelled. The rain only eased at about 11am.
The event was moved to the Thaba Tshwane Town Hall where President Jacob Zuma, who is the commander-in-chief of the SANDF, addressed guests.
Tshwane community safety spokesman William Baloyi said Michael Kodisang, 37, of Block B, Mabopane, was on his way to buy milk at about 7am on Thursday when he was trapped in the water.
According to Baloyi, Kodisang tried to cross a small stream near the Morula Sun and clung to a concrete slab when the water came down. Kodisang, was rescued by members of the SAPS air wing.
The head of the community safety department, Brigadier Mahlomola Manganye, said he received a call at about 11am on Thursday about a man who had been trapped in the spruit in Mabopane.
Manganye organised a rescue helicopter.
“When I got there I saw a person clinging on to a concrete slab, which was nearly covered by the water.
“He was in the middle of the river. It was clear he was going to be whipped off the concrete slab any minute,” he said.
Manganye said the man was rescued unharmed.
“He was just scared, shocked and shivering from the cold. I could not imagine how he got through it,” said Manganye.
The cars of several guests at the Centurion Lake Hotel were damaged when the underground parking area was flooded.
Water stood ceiling high and a towing service had to pull cars out of the car park.
Nobody was injured.
According to a member of staff at the hotel, who did not wish to be identified, some of the residents panicked as they realised their cars were under water.
The hotel hosted a wedding on Thursday and guests who arrived at the venue could not park their cars in the parking area.
Water also pushed up to the front door of the hotel, but it was luckily kept back by barriers and did not reach inside the hotel.
Baloyi said the emergency services were on alert on Thursday to monitor the situation.
The worst affected areas were in Centurion and north of Pretoria.
The bridge on the Klipgat Road leading to the Odi Prison near Mabopane was destroyed by the rain and Baloyi said the road would be closed for about three months.
The low-water bridge at the Apies River in Capital Park was also closed for some time on Thursday, following structural damage to the bridge. This has since been repaired and the bridge has been opened to traffic.
Several roads in Centurion were still closed on Thursday night because of the flooding.
The South African Weather Service said the rain was over for now. It would be a partly sunny day on Friday with temperatures between 15°C and 29°C in Pretoria.
It said there was a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms in the late afternoon.

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