Jaco Scholtz from routine road maintenance tells OFM News that the road is completely submerged with no way through. He adds that the road will not be cleared on Thursday as the wet weather is causing exponential damage.

Scholtz goes on to say that various trucks and cars have since been stuck in the deep water. He asks that motorists and road users please make use of alternative routes as cars are lined up with no way of turning back.

"The road was so deep underwater that a Jet Ski boat had to be used to rescue the group of four individuals who were stranded on the N18 road because of the flash floods. Policemen, along with the Disaster Management teams, were on-site to facilitate the rescue of the group and to ensure that no-one had been harmed," Scholtz said.

Scholtz says that road users driving from Jan Kempdorp should alternatively use the Christiana, Schweizer-Reneke route as the Kuruman road has also recently been foreclosed due to flash floods immersing the roads.

OFM News previously reported that motorists in Mahikeng, North West, are asked to avoid travelling on the N18 between Vryburg and Taung.

Moreover, the Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs’ Dineo Thapelo says that Members of the Disaster Management Team in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District have been dispatched to all affected areas to provide the necessary assistance.

Thapelo and Scholtz urge all motorists, road users and pedestrians to avoid crossing flooded streams and rivers at all costs. They conclude by warning that flooding is expected in many more areas across the province for the next few days.

The road had been immersed so deep underwater that a Jet Ski boat had to be used to rescue the group of 4 

OFM News/Shirndré-Lee Simmons