Parents urged to keep an eye on children this summer
Most of the children still walk by themselves to and from school, across the water streams, rivers and parents are urged to accompany them at all time.
Heavy rains have been experienced in the past couple of days causing extensive destruction in most of the areas around the city.
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“Rivers, streams, dams, and many other open trenches are filled with water spelling a danger mostly to the innocent and vulnerable members of our society, moreover the children,” said William Ntladi from Ekurhuleni Emergency Services.
Most of the children still walk by themselves to and from school, across the water streams, rivers and parents are urged to accompany them at all time.
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“Due to final year examination that pupils and students are writing, some days they find themselves at home not attending any classes. Subsequently, they become tempted to engage with swimming activities and as a result, drowning is imminent.”
“Soon schools and industries will be closing for festive holidays which means that social gatherings will be held around public or private swimming pools as well as at lakes, dams and rivers. This will inevitably put people’s lives at risk particularly young children and people who do not know how to swim,” said Ntladi.
The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality’s Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) reminded residents to follow water safety tips as drowning is one of the leading cause of accidental deaths amongst people.
“Summertime is a fun time with great weather for children to play in and around water however, swimming can be potentially dangerous. Parents need to recognize that swimming lessons do not protect kids from drowning, only constant supervision can.”
Parents are urged to keep an eye on their children and to know of their whereabouts at all times in areas where there are water bodies or swimming pools.
Below are the emergency numbers to call in the event of an emergency:
- The Ekurhuleni’s DEMS Emergency Number: 011 458 0911 (paid line).
- National Emergency Number: 10177
- Cell phone Emergency number: 112
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