Gauteng mall damaged by flooding
Heavy rains at the weekend left retail stores at Jubilee Mall in Hammanskraal flooded with filthy water, causing damage.
Ceilings, roofs and walls collapsed and many clothing items in retail stores were drenched in muddy water.
A worker at Foschini, who wished to remain anonymous, yesterday told The Citizen she first noticed the rain leaking through the ceiling in the afternoon. Then, suddenly, the water came through the main door.
“The rain was extremely heavy and the floods were about ankle deep. We had to come to work today to sweep out the water,” she said.
Staff was seen walking across the mall barefoot, mops and buckets in hand, draining and scooping up the dirty water.
A worker at The Cross Trainer store said she was frustrated with the centre’s management, who failed to assist them as they were more concerned with the bigger retail stores.
She said their storeroom was flooded, leaving new products soaked and damaged.
“We have new Mamelodi Sundowns t-shirts that people like to buy, but they are wet and we now won’t be able to meet our targets for the month,” The Cross Trainer staffer said.
“We have children to feed. If we don’t meet those targets, we might lose our jobs. Some customers put their clothes on lay-by, but those are also damaged.”
Several stores were left with malfunctioning servers and telephone lines. They were closed for the day, as mall staff assisted in clearing the water.
According to security guards and mall contractors, plastic bags and other litter blocked the mall’s drainage system.
After numerous attempts to locate and contact mall management, no one was available to provide comment.
Tshwane emergency services spokesperson Johan Pieterse said no injuries were reported.
The weather service said since there had been no warning of severe storms, “the flooding could have been caused by poor infrastructure”.
“Rain is expected from Tuesday through to Saturday.”
We have new Mamelodi Sundowns t-shirts that people like to buy, but they are extremely wet, and now we won’t be able to meet targets for the month.