{"id":115095,"date":"2025-06-12T16:44:02","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T20:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africatodaynewsnewyork.com\/?p=115095"},"modified":"2025-06-12T16:44:02","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T20:44:02","slug":"south-africa-flood-disaster-kills-at-least-67-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africatodaynewsnewyork.com\/2025\/06\/12\/south-africa-flood-disaster-kills-at-least-67-people\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa Flood Disaster Kills At Least 67 People"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rescue efforts continued in South Africa<\/a>\u2019s Eastern Cape on Thursday as recovery teams pulled more bodies from the wreckage left by a brutal winter storm, pushing the death toll to at least 67.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The storm, which tore through the province on Monday with punishing rain and gale-force winds, triggered flash floods and river overflows that swallowed homes\u2014many of them fragile, makeshift structures unable to withstand the surge. Entire communities were left reeling, particularly around Mthatha, the worst-hit city some 800 kilometers south of Johannesburg.<\/p>\n

Days after the disaster, the aftermath still clung to the landscape: thick mud, shattered homes, and the haunting quiet of loss. In one harrowing moment witnessed by AFP journalists, rescue workers retrieved four lifeless bodies\u2014including children\u2014from a collapsed one-room dwelling, as heartbroken locals looked on in silence.<\/p>\n

For many, it was not just the loss of shelter, but the erosion of what little stability they had. In a province already marked by poverty and underdevelopment, the storm delivered a cruel blow\u2014and for those still searching for loved ones or remnants of home, the tragedy is far from over.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the water subsides, more bodies are being discovered,\u201d said Caroline Gallant, Eastern Cape manager at the South African Red Cross Society, which has sent assistance to the disaster zone.<\/p>\n

More than 3,000 houses have been affected, she told AFP, adding it was \u201cthe worst ever disaster\u201d recorded in the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe figure now has gone to 67 in terms of deceased,\u201d\u00a0Velenkosini Hlabisa, minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs, told reporters.<\/p>\n

It includes six school students who were among 10 in a school van that was swept away in the flooding, he said. Four of the children are still missing, officials said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe learnt of an additional two learners today\u2026 who have been confirmed as having died on the walk to school,\u201d Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are reeling,\u201d she told public broadcaster SABC News.<\/p>\n

The storm damaged power and water supplies and hundreds of people were forced to relocate.<\/p>\n

President Cyril Ramaphosa called the floods \u201cunprecedented\u201d and said he would visit the disaster-hit region Friday.<\/p>\n

One rescuer, who spoke to AFP on Thursday on the condition of anonymity as he was not allowed to speak to the media, said his team was expecting to find more bodies and possibly survivors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going door to door to see, because yesterday we did find people locked inside houses who couldn\u2019t get out and were deceased,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n

Read aslo: White South Africans Arrive US Under Trump Refugee Plan<\/a><\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/blockquote>\n

At least 600 people have been displaced, the provincial government said, with many sheltering in community halls.<\/p>\n

Infrastructure has also been damaged and at least 20 health facilities affected, the local authority said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe numbers will increase dramatically,\u201d said Ali Sablay, a spokesperson for the Gift of the Givers Foundation, a disaster response charity that deployed teams to the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the last 24 hours the number of people requiring assistance has jumped from 5,000 to 10,000,\u201d he told AFP.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe homes are fragile, they can collapse any time; food is contaminated so people need to be evacuated,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

As rescue efforts continue in the wake of the devastating storm in Eastern Cape, the South African government has issued a stark warning: more extreme weather is on the horizon.<\/p>\n

Authorities urged citizens to remain vigilant in the coming days, as forecasts predict further turbulent conditions across the country. The warning comes amid a growing climate reckoning, particularly in the Eastern Cape\u2014Nelson Mandela\u2019s birthplace and one of South Africa\u2019s most impoverished regions, where nearly three-quarters of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the Southern African Regional Poverty Network.<\/p>\n

Though snow and seasonal rains are familiar features of South African winters, officials say the country is now grappling with something far more dangerous: the accelerating effects of climate change. The Green Climate Fund notes that South Africa\u2019s exposure to climate variability is making droughts, floods, and wildfires more frequent\u2014and more catastrophic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is no longer theory\u2014climate change is a reality now,\u201d said Minister Hlabisa during a briefing. \u201cWe must take a tough stance: anyone living on a flood plain must be relocated. We cannot afford to keep repeating these tragedies.\u201d<\/p>\n

His statement signals a potential shift in policy, one that may soon force a reckoning with long-ignored questions of urban planning, climate adaptation, and social vulnerability\u2014especially in areas already bearing the brunt of inequality.<\/p>\n

Africa Today News, New York<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rescue efforts continued in South Africa\u2019s Eastern Cape on Thursday as recovery teams pulled more bodies from the wreckage left by a brutal winter storm, pushing the death toll to at least 67. 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