Hundreds of residents in this mining city had to be evacuated from their homes on Wednesday and transported to places of safety after they were affected by heavy rains. Several roads and houses remain flooded with emergency services officials still busy with rescue operations. 

The police have retrieved a body yesterday in a flooded road and appeal to residents of Bronville to assist with the identification of the body of a man who was allegedly crossing over to a residential area when he drowned. Premier Sisi Ntombela has since declared Bronville as a disaster area and urged for rescue operations to continue until all residents affected are moved to places of safety where the provincial government is assisting with basic necessities such as food and blankets.

Matjhabeng Mayor, Nkosinjani Speelman, has confirmed that the areas of Thabong, Virginia, Allanridge, and Ventersburg are amongst those affected by the heavy downpours. He says the municipality has appealed to the Schools’ Governing Bodies to shut down schools for the next few days for safety reasons.

OFM to lend a helping hand

OFM has meanwhile acknowledged the plight faced by community members in these regions and has joined hands with the municipality to lend a helping hand to the affected.

“While we have enjoyed the rain in our region for the past couple of days, it is unfortunate that the heavy rains have led to localised flooding in the Goldfields area, which was so severe that the Free State Premier, Sisi Ntombela, declared Bronville at Welkom a disaster area on April the 24th. We, as OFM, have decided to lend a helping hand and we are encouraging our loyal listeners to assist the community by donating warm winter clothes, blankets, non-perishable food, food for animals, toiletries and other items at Gold Fields Mall’s Guest Relations Desk at Entrance 2,” said OFM’s Marketing Manager, Lindiwe Mtwentula.

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