Johannesburg Emergency Services remained on high alert on 23 March 2026 after the South African Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm warnings for Gauteng, with flash flooding, damaging winds, and hail expected across the province.
EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said disaster management teams and water rescue units had been deployed across all seven regions of the city. The SAWS warning also covers extreme north-western parts of Mpumalanga and the western and central parts of Limpopo.
“From our side as the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services, we continue to be on high alert monitoring all seven regions of the city,” Mulaudzi told SABC News.
Motorists and residents were urged to avoid flooded roads, river streams, drainage channels, and low-lying bridges. “We are still pleading with our motorists to continue to exercise caution while driving. Avoid crossing roads and low-lying bridges which might be flooded,” Mulaudzi said.
According to EWN, SAWS issued a Yellow Level 4 warning for severe thunderstorms on 6 March 2026, with the risk extending into low-lying areas and around rivers. The Citizen reported the same warning covered parts of Tshwane and Johannesburg.
The alert follows a pattern of repeated severe weather warnings for Gauteng this year. SAWS issued an earlier thunderstorm warning on 2 March 2026, and again on 4 September 2026, covering heavy rain, damaging winds, and possible hail across the province.
For Western Cape readers, the Gauteng alerts come as Cape Town approaches its own winter rainfall season, when flash flooding regularly affects low-lying areas on the Cape Flats, including informal settlements in Philippi, Khayelitsha, and Gugulethu. The recurring SAWS warnings underscore a broader national vulnerability to extreme weather driven by ageing stormwater infrastructure in densely populated areas.
Specific storm damage or incidents within particular Johannesburg suburbs had not been confirmed at the time of the SABC report. The exact wording and timestamp of the original SABC broadcast could not be independently verified from the provided search results.
Cape Flats News will continue monitoring SAWS updates and any EMS incident reports as the storm system develops.