Eastern Cape flood death toll hits 67
The death toll from the devastating floods in the Eastern Cape has risen to 67, as search and rescue operations continue.
Cooperative Governance Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa confirmed the figure on Thursday afternoon.
Hlabisa said the postmortem examinations of the first 49 victims discovered on Wednesday were completed.
“There has been a report in the early morning hours, which reported that there is a problem in terms of postmortem. I want to confirm that I spoke to the Minister of Health and the confirmation has been given that by 12 o'clock today, the 49 bodies that were confirmed as of yesterday have been completed."
Torrential rains and freezing temperatures struck the Eastern Cape on Monday, causing major flooding and landslides that submerged houses.
Images showed homes completely under water and rescuers wading through the mud. Power and water supplies have been affected, and hundreds have been forced to relocate.
The minister said the search and rescue teams are still fully deployed.
“The infrastructure, the houses in the floodplains, were the ones that were washed away or affected. As a country, we need to confront the real challenge of people who are living by the rivers,” said Hlabisa.
The minister added that during his visit to four of the centres housing those affected, the residents agreed to be relocated from the floodplains.
"We will need the cooperation of our people because climate change is a reality. Next week, we might experience similar floods in the same area, and we might lose more people.
"So now this must be a countrywide decision to ensure that as a government we take a hard stance because these people were not allocated here by the municipalities, who should have considered the area where they are allocating people, and people decided to build on their own."
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