Provincial Health spokesperson, Mondli Mvambi, says the river which passes through the town has flooded town, including other surrounding areas.

Business owners also expressed concern about the town’s poor drainage system, saying it is a contributing factor to flooding whenever it rains.

ALSO READ: Poor drainage system blamed for Bethlehem CBD flooding

The Red Cross SA manager in the Free State, Claudia Mangwegape, says their team visited Bethlehem to assess the situation and assist residents.

ALSO READ: Bethlehem residents devastated by floods

“We do respond to disasters, it’s part of our core programme. So, what we did was to go and do an assessment, and then after that we provide relief as per the needs that we saw. We’ll also be continuing with further assessment because there are other areas that our volunteers on the ground have identified, particularly in Kestel, Qwaqwa and Bethlehem,” she said.

Mangwegape says houses and businesses were flooded with water, and they assisted residents to remove furniture and clear water from their houses and places of business.

She adds that some of the residents declined the opportunity to move to temporary shelters where they could sleep for the night, after stating that they don’t want their belongings to be stolen at their homes.

OFM News