Government says help on the way for Joburg flood victims

JOHANNESBURG - All three spheres of government have come together to assess the situation in Soweto.

Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi says teams are already on the ground to help victims of flash floods.

Kubayi says government is now on high alert this rainy season.

READ: Level 5 weather warning issued for Johannesburg

"So what we will do in Gauteng, as the MEC is saying, is that we are doing activation of our interventions, putting together teams that are going to focus in terms of assessment of the houses across the city," she said.

"The number of houses that have completely collapsed, and people who have been displaced, some of them where we have put them and what intervention, immediate intervention, medium and long term."

READ: Joburg appeals for blackout reprieve

Meanwhile, the City of Johannesburg has requested an exemption from power cuts for at least three days.

It's made this urgent appeal to power utility Eskom, saying it's in a serious crisis after the floods.

The city's environment and infrastructure spokesperson, Nickolaus Bauer, says they're currently attending to about 1,000 power outages.