Cold and Wet Weather Conditions in Johannesburg this week, residents are urged to be safe.
Emergency Management Services has noted with concern the warning message from the South African Weather Service that most parts of Gauteng province including the City of Johannesburg will receive significant drop in temperatures with wet conditions, the cold front is expected to last until Wednesday with a potential of some areas to receive significant amounts of rainfall from this weather system and this may result in localised flooding in some areas.
This significant drop in temperatures means that most of the residents of the city of Johannesburg will be exposed to extremely cold temperatures forcing them to use heating and lighting appliances to try and warm themselves, this appliances might be dangerous if they are used unsafely.
The City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services will remain on high alert to make sure that we respond to any emergency which might occur, the main focus will be all our 189 informal settlements throughout the city since they are the most vulnerable to fire incidents when we have Cold and Wet Weather conditions like this,
The City of Johannesburg Disaster Management Centre will be fully operational throughout the week and Disaster Management Monitoring teams have been dispatched to all Seven regions of the City to monitor any eventuality which might occur and also to facilitate any evacuations procedures whenever there is a need to do so since there is a possibility of localised flooding especially in our low lying areas.
They also want to urge all our residents throughout the City Of Johannesburg not to leave any heating devices unattended while in use to avoid fire incidents at home during this period.
Here are some of the safety tips:
Candle safety tips
- Keep candles away from children
- A child should not be left unattended in a room with a candle.
- Store candles, matches and lighters away from the reach of children.
- A candle should not be used to light stoves.
- A candle should not be used in a confined space.
Braizers or Imbaula
- Use it in a well ventilated area to avoid carbon monoxide inhalation, before you go to bed take it outside
Paraffin
- Put your paraffin stove on a flat surface where it cannot fall or get knocked over.
- Use safe containers to store paraffin eg. safety cap bottles
Before you go to bed or out
- Never go to bed or out with a candle or paraffin lamp is still burning.
- Switch off heaters and stoves at the plug before going to bed or out.
- Always put out cigarettes carefully. Do not smoke in bed
There will also be many South Africans who do not have warmth during the winter, if you have extra blankets or clothing that you would like to donate, please click here.
For any life threatening emergencies call 10177 on Telkom landline or 112 on your Cell phone or 011 375 5911.
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