- President Cyril Ramaphosa is heading to the Eastern Cape on Friday to meet grieving families and assess the damage caused by deadly floods.
- Rescue teams are still looking for missing people, and 127 schools and around 20 clinics have been damaged across the province.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will visit the Eastern Cape on Friday, following deadly floods that have killed at least 67 people.
Some of the dead include school children who were travelling in a transport vehicle that was washed off the Efafa bridge on Tuesday.
Speaking in Cape Town on Thursday, Ramaphosa said: “The Eastern Cape is suffering from the floods that is unprecedented. I will be going there tomorrow to see how our people are suffering, and how we can console the families.”
He also said South Africa needs better systems to deal with natural disasters in the future.
In Mthatha, rescue teams are still searching for missing bodies, while desperate families are trying to identify their loved ones at the local mortuary.
One mother told Newzroom Afrika: “Yesterday, we came here in search of our daughter and we couldn’t find her. They told us to come back this morning and even today we’re still unable to find her. This is heartbreaking because we just want to see her body so we can have closure.”
On Thursday, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Zolile Williams gave an update from the Joint Operations Centre in Mthatha. He said new reports from several districts confirmed more deaths, bringing the number to 67.
“I just got a message that says we’ve got three deaths in Chris Hani District. In Ntsikayethu, Sakhisizwe, Enoch Mgijima Municipalities, and one in Emalahleni. In Amathole, we’ve got Mnquma with three deaths and Mbashe with one death,” said Williams.
“Now, from the 57 that the Honourable Minister is reporting, if you look at three in Mnquma, I think the number is 67 from 57. It now increases to 67. But the status quo, as the Minister responded, reported in the eye of the storm, which is KSD (King Sabata Dalindyebo), the status quo is still the same.”
Cooperative Governance Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa said the National Disaster Management Centre has classified the disaster in four provinces: Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Western Cape.
“There will be no need of a declaration [of a national state of disaster]. The classification is sufficient,” said Hlabisa.
“It allows all departments and all spheres of government to activate necessary steps in terms of intervention to respond to the storm that has occurred in the past few days.”
Hlabisa will return to the Eastern Cape on 7 July to announce support plans. He urged provinces to collect and submit full data by then.
Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane said emergency teams, police and volunteers rescued 38 people in Mthatha. Two helicopters, dog units and technical teams are working in the area.
He said 127 schools and around 20 health facilities were damaged. Engineers are helping to fix roads, water and electricity supplies.
By Anita Dangazele
allafrica.com
