Severe thunderstorms resulting in heavy rainfall and flash flooding have hit parts of Gauteng since 9 November 2016. According to South African Weather Services (SAWS), areas that were mostly affected were the City of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni Metropolitan municipalities. The flash flooding (a sudden flood in a low-lying area commonly caused by periods of heavy rainfall) has resulted in loss of lives, and cars being submerged or swept away at major roads such as the R24, N3 and N2. The heavy rains also caused damage to property at private homes and in places such as OR Tambo International Airport, where some flights were either diverted or delayed. To stay safe during a flood, citizens are urged to avoid crossing rivers, swimming or driving through fast-moving flood water and should abandon their vehicles if they stall after heavy rainfall.

In this month’s issue of Mbalo Brief, our educational article is based on the Housing findings, which were derived from the 2016 Community Survey (CS) results. The findings focus on distribution of households, types of dwellings and occupation status between Census 1996 and CS 2016. Also have a look at our monthly crossword puzzle and solutions for the October 2016 puzzle.

Also included in this issue are our monthly articles such as Consumer price index, Retail trade sales, Mining: Production and sales and Food and beverages.

Articles published in this issue are based on results of industry surveys conducted for the months ranging from July to September 2016 which were published by Stats SA in September and October 2016.

Download: Mbalo Brief – November 2016

For more details on any of the surveys, visit our website at: www.statssa.gov.za