The water was so high that it was up to half the length of the traffic lights and street post names.
Pretoria – Heavy rains are a cause for concern as low lying bridges and other areas are flooded and traffic has ground to a halt on various roads in the City of Tshwane.
Tshwane motorists, in particular those driving in the flood prone suburb of Centurion, have been moving at tortoise pace as the rain renders numerous roads unsafe to drive on.
Pedestrians also had their fair share of challenges as many could be seen trying to jump over flooded areas.
Traffic congestion was caused by accidents that occurred on busy roads like the N1 highway through Centurion.
A flooded road in Centurion. Video: James Mahlokwane
One lane of the highway was closed for some time as emergency services attended to the scene.
Meanwhile, the nearby intersection of End and Rabbie Street in Centurion was heavily flooded and cordoned off.
The water was so high that it was up to half the length of the traffic lights and street post names.
One traffic light had collapsed by the pressure of the floods.
Water flows under the Centurion Hotel. Video: James Mahlokwane
Many drivers saw that as warning enough and turned around.
Some pedestrians and motorists gathered outside the the Centurion Hotel to watch flood water going under the hotel that was designed to survive such floods in such a low lying area.
Centurion Lake was also overflowing.
Jan Smith said: “This kind of flooding happens every time when there are heavy rains here.
“You can see from afar that some of this water is creeping into or towards the reception area.
Emergency Services at the Centurion Hotel. Video: James Mahlokwane
“Fortunately the engineers who built this hotel were smart enough to anticipate this.
“You can see that the people know they are safe here and they’re just watching from the windows.”
Some people were recording the flash flooding from the Gautrain that travels on the high railway bridges, but with numerous roads closed, Centurion traffic piled up.
Pretoria News
