Boy drowns while 10 children are rescued

"We received a call that the vehicle was swept away, but when we got to the scene the children had already been rescued by police," Johannesburg emergency services spokeswoman Nana Radebe said.

Nobody was hurt.

Residents in the Alexandra reported rising water levels and strong winds since midday. Some roads were closed due to flooding.

In Heidelberg, south-east of Johannesburg, a six-year-old boy drowned in a river, police said. Three boys had been walking from Heidelberg to Ratanda township when they were swept off a bridge over the Blesbok Spruit around 6pm, Captain Shado Mashobane said.

A passerby pulled two of the boys out of the water.

Emergency workers were still searching for the boy's body by 7.30pm.

This followed a week of people being plucked from trees, hay bales and vehicles in Gauteng and the Northern Cape as flash floods followed incessant rain.

There were mudslides, trees were uprooted and property damaged.

In the Northern Cape affected areas included Douglas, Windsorton and Riverton.

"Earlier in the week, our rescue teams were sent out but today we are okay. There were no reports today," police spokeswoman Captain Cherelle Ehlers said.

In Windsorton on Monday, a river burst its banks, submerging farmers' homes. A 15-year-old boy trying to escape the water had to be rescued off a hay bale.

"People have gone to higher ground and there have been no reports of drownings or missing people thus far," Ehlers said.

On Sunday night, two police divers climbed up a tree to avoid being carried away by the water.

"A helicopter was sent out and they were brought to safety. We just want to warn people to stay away from the water as the current is very strong," Ehlers said.

Although the North West had severe storms throughout the week, weather conditions improved by Thursday.

Police spokeswoman Inspector Wilmarie van der Merwe said water levels had gone down and there were no missing person reports or drownings.