Parts of Soweto were declared disaster areas after flash floods caused havoc overnight, the Gauteng provincial government said on Friday.

This followed a tour of the flood-ravaged areas by ANC president Jacob Zuma, Gauteng premier Paul Mashatile and Johannesburg mayor Amos Masondo.

Zuma, followed by a host of vehicles, wound his way through the streets of Soweto bringing traffic to a halt while spectators lined the streets.

Construction to repair the bridge in Dube where taxi driver, Olando Chauke, 29, went missing after his vehicle was swept away in flash floods, has already begun.

A slab of broken tar lay on the road, just before it dipped into a gaping hole, where the bridge washed away. Battered pipes gushed water into the cavern as police divers surveyed the area from what remained of the road.

Zuma appeared taken aback by the sight.

"The extent of the damage I have seen here today is beyond description. I don't think it is easy to... explain it in words," he said.

Two girls, aged six and 15, lost their lives in the floods, while 40 people were injured with three others missing, including a 20-day-old baby. Two hundred families were left homeless.

Masondo said the City would "mobilise all available resources" to assist the flood victims.

By Friday afternoon, emergency services were still searching for the missing people.

"Reports that we have been receiving from the rescue teams indicate that they have not been successful thus far," said Johannesburg Emergency Services spokesman Percy Morokane.

He said the missing baby was aboard a bus trapped on Ncube Drive and a missing cyclist was from Mfulo South.

Those left homeless were being sheltered at the Grace Bible Church and the Dorcas Aid Shelter on Old Potch Road.

He said a "co-ordinated plan" was outlined at an operational briefing where it was decided that City Parks and Piki Tup would clean the streets, City power would restore electricity to affected areas, and Joburg Water would restore water.

The health department would be on the lookout for any outbreak of waterborne disease.

Emergency services, who were commended by Mashatile for their swift and efficient response to the situation, would remain on alert as more rain was forecast for Friday evening.

They rescued at least 66 people in a four-hour period after the downpour.

By Friday afternoon, dark rain clouds had already gathered overhead while thunder rumbled faintly in the distance. A fine drizzle fell from the sky.

Residents whose homes were ravaged by floods the day before greeted the signs of further showers with dismay.

"Not again," said 67-year-old Alice Mbunjana, whose home and possessions were destroyed in the floods.

She opened a can of fish in her kitchen, the floor still caked with mud and debris left behind after the water had subsided. Entering her home, to the left is a room filled with muddy shoes and clothes, the floor thick with water, sand and grass.

To the right, furniture spared from destruction lay piled against the wall. Mbunjana makes her way into a bedroom, off to the right.

"This is where the water was," she says pointing to a thick dark brown watermark, high up on the bedroom wall along its length.

A water soaked bed with blankets still dripping stands in the centre of the bedroom.

"We were more scared for the children, so we put them on the wardrobe," Mbunjana said.

She lives in the Soweto home with 41 others, most family, children and grandchildren.

Her granddaughter Buhle, arrived home from school shortly before the rain began to lash down on Thursday.

"I didn't want to go to school today, my uniform was ruined," said Buhle.

She and her mother Miriam, were trying to clean the muddy floors and salvage some of the furniture in the home.

"We really just need blankets," said Miriam.

"We will try and dry everything else, but we need to sleep tonight," she said.

The family's fridge, stove, washing machine and hi fi, which lay on a shelf covered in mud, was destroyed.

"I don't think these things will work again," said Mbunjana, pointing at the appliances.

Meanwhile, the brother of the missing taxi driver, Penana Chauke, said his brother had not yet been found.

"Haven't found him yet. They are still searching," he said on Friday evening.

Penana had last seen his brother on Thursday, just before the floods began.

Mashatile said the City of Johannesburg had recognised that there were areas of Soweto vulnerable to flash-flooding.

The City was attending to it, he said.

"The process has already started, construction would begin in the next few weeks," Mashatile said.

The declaration of the area as a disaster area allows for humanitarian aid to families left destitute by the floods.

Sapa