The death toll from the devastating floods that struck South Africa’s Eastern Cape province has risen to at least 78, as rescue teams continue to recover bodies days after the storm wreaked havoc across the region.
The severe winter storm, which began on Monday, brought heavy rains and strong winds to the underdeveloped, rural province, causing rivers to overflow and inundating homes — many of them makeshift structures. The area around the city of Mthatha, located roughly 800 kilometres south of Johannesburg, was the hardest hit.
Three days after the storm, residents were still combing through the mud, attempting to salvage whatever they could from their damaged properties. Journalists from AFP reported seeing rescue teams retrieve four bodies — including children — from a single-roomed house on Thursday afternoon, while locals stood by helplessly.
Homes, vehicles, and trees remained caked in thick mud, with fields littered with debris. “As the water subsides, more bodies are being discovered,” said Caroline Gallant, Eastern Cape manager for the South African Red Cross Society, describing the event as “the worst ever disaster” recorded in the region. She added that more than 3,000 homes had been affected.
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa confirmed on national broadcaster SABC News that the death toll had climbed to 78. Among the victims were six schoolchildren who had been travelling in a van swept away by the floodwaters. Four other children who were in the same vehicle remain missing.
Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube said two more pupils had died on their way to school. “We are reeling,” she told SABC.
Rescue efforts continued into the evening. Ali Sablay, spokesperson for the Gift of the Givers Foundation, said teams recovered eight more bodies on Thursday, including three children. He warned that the number of casualties was likely to rise.
President Cyril Ramaphosa described the floods as “unprecedented” and announced he would visit the affected areas on Friday.
One rescue worker, speaking to AFP anonymously as he was not authorised to talk to the press, said teams were conducting door-to-door checks in the hopes of finding survivors — or retrieving more victims. “We did find people locked inside houses who couldn’t get out and were deceased,” he said.
The storm has severely impacted essential services in the Eastern Cape. Electricity and water supplies have been disrupted, while more than 600 people have been displaced and are now sheltering in community halls. Damage to infrastructure is extensive, with at least 20 healthcare facilities affected, according to local authorities.
Sablay said the number of people in urgent need had doubled in just 24 hours. “In the last day, the number of people requiring assistance has jumped from 5,000 to 10,000,” he noted. He added that homes in the affected areas remain dangerously unstable and that food supplies had been contaminated.
Authorities have urged citizens to remain alert, warning that more extreme weather is forecast across the country in the coming days.
The Eastern Cape — birthplace of Nelson Mandela — is one of South Africa’s poorest provinces, with 72 percent of its population living below the poverty line, according to the Southern African Regional Poverty Network.
While snow and heavy rains are typical during South Africa’s winter months, the country remains highly vulnerable to climate variability. The Green Climate Fund warns that climate change is intensifying the frequency and severity of natural disasters like droughts, floods, and wildfires.
“We must take a tough stance that everyone who is living on a flood plain must be removed,” said Minister Hlabisa. “Climate change is a reality now.”
