- President Cyril Ramaphosa visited grieving families after floods in Mthatha killed schoolchildren and destroyed roads, bridges, and homes this week.
- The government has declared a state of disaster in four provinces to fast-track help and has promised urgent support for affected communities.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called the deadly floods in the Eastern Cape a “catastrophic disaster” and blamed climate change.
He visited Mthatha on Thursday to meet families affected by the disaster. Nearly 80 people have died and dozens are missing after a week of heavy rain battered the province.
“This is a catastrophic disaster for us, which is caused by climate change because we are not used to floods during winter,” said Ramaphosa.
He said the Eastern Cape usually only sees cold weather at this time of year, but now it is facing life-threatening floods.
“This goes to show the severity of the issue of climate change.”
Ramaphosa went to eFeta Bridge in Mthatha, where a school bus was swept away after the bridge collapsed. Six of the 10 children on board drowned. Four children are still missing. The driver and his assistant also died.
He was joined by Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Velenkosini Hlabisa, Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube, OR Tambo District Mayor Mesuli Ngqondwana and Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman.
A local emergency worker told the president that floodwaters rose higher than nearby houses when rescue teams arrived.
Hlabisa said the driver crossed the bridge to fetch the children and thought it was still safe on the way back.
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi told Ramaphosa about Ongezwa Ntlabathi from Limpopo, who lost her mother and two young children. Her eldest child is still missing.
“We are sorry because it is very painful to lose your child or your parent,” said Ramaphosa. “I am here because it’s not usual for so many people to die at the same time.”
The government has declared a state of disaster in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Free State. This allows emergency help to be delivered faster.
Ramaphosa also called for a national day of mourning.
He warned people about building homes in riverplains, saying it puts their lives at risk. But he said government would focus first on burying the dead.
Eastern Cape Health MEC Ntandokazi Capa said post-mortems have been done on 70 bodies. She said 30 have already been returned to families.
“We are sure by the end of today all of that would be done. We’ve done all the autopsy from all the bodies. We are only left with eight that were found yesterday. We are busy with them now,” said Capa.
Ramaphosa promised that officials would assess what help families need and urged patience as recovery efforts continue.
“We will continue to give you the support and the assistance that is required so that your sorrow must not be deepened beyond what you are experiencing now,” he said.
By Anita Dangazele
allafrica.com
