Deadly flooding in South Africa has resulted in the loss of 78 lives

Freak Winter Storm Wreaks Havoc in South Africa's Eastern Cape

Chillingly cold winter storms pounded the sparsely developed and underprivileged Eastern Cape Province on Monday, bursting rivers' banks and submerging homes, leaving several makeshift shelters flooded.

The hardest-hit area was the vicinity of Mthatha, around 800 kilometers (500 miles) south of Johannesburg, where locals picked through the mud three days later to salvage what they could from their devastated homes.

AFP journalists witnessed a rescue team extract four bodies, some of whom were children, from a single-roomed house in the late afternoon, as the local inhabitants watched.

Mud covered houses, trees, and vehicles, while fields were littered with debris.

"As the water recedes, more corpses are being discovered," said Caroline Gallant, Eastern Cape manager at the South African Red Cross Society, who've dispatched aid to the disaster zone.

More than 3,000 homes have been impacted, she informed AFP, adding it was "the worst disaster" ever recorded in the area.

"The figure has risen to 78," Velenkosini Hlabisa, minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs, informed public broadcaster SABC News. This includes six school students who were among ten in a school van swept away by the floods, he stated. Four of the children are still unaccounted for, officials informed.

"We're in shock," Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube told the SABC. "We've learned of an additional two learners today... who have been confirmed to have perished on their way to school."

Ali Sablay, a spokesperson for disaster response charity the Gift of the Givers Foundation, reported Thursday evening that their teams had recovered eight more bodies, including three children.

President Cyril Ramaphosa termed the floods "unprecedented" and said he would visit the disaster-stricken region on Friday.

Entering Homes to Check

One rescuer, speaking to AFP on Thursday anonymously as he was not permitted to engage with the media, stated his team was anticipating finding more bodies and possibly survivors.

"We're going door-to-door to verify, as yesterday we did find people locked inside houses who couldn't escape and perished," he shared.

The storm disrupted power and water supplies, with at least 600 people displaced, according to the provincial government. Many have taken shelter in community halls.

Infrastructure has been damaged, and at least 20 health facilities have been affected, the local authority reported.

"The death toll will increase significantly," Sablay stated. "In the past 24 hours, the number of people seeking aid has climbed from 5,000 to 10,000."

"The houses are precarious; they can collapse at any moment; food is contaminated, so people require evacuation," he added.

The government urged South Africans to remain vigilant over the next few days, anticipating more "extreme weather" throughout the country.

The province — where Nelson Mandela was born — is among the poorest in the country, with 72% of the population living below the poverty line, according to the Southern African Regional Poverty Network.

Snow and heavy rainfall are typical during winter in South Africa. However, the country is highly susceptible to climate change and its consequences, such as increased occurrences and intensities of droughts, floods, and wildfires, according to the Green Climate Fund.

"We must adopt a firm stance that everyone residing on a flood plain must be removed," minister Hlabisa stated. "Climate change is a reality now."

[1] South African government deploys teams to search for missing flood victims following heavy rainfall: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africas-government-deploys-teams-search-missing-flood-victims-following-2022-12-07/

[2] South African flood death toll continues to rise: https://www.dw.com/en/south-african-flood-death-toll-continues-to-rise/a-64625178

[3] Over 100 students missing after South African flood bus was swept away: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/6/over-100-students-missing-after-south-african-flood-bus-was-swept-away

[4] South African floods: Toll rises as more bodies are found: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-64163457

[Enrichment Data]The recent winter storm in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province has resulted in significant devastation, with at least 78 deaths reported, and a significant number of people still missing. The floods have swept away homes, vehicles, and affected at least 3,000 houses. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised to visit the disaster-hit region and deploy government resources to support relief efforts. The prevalent rural and underdeveloped nature of the affected areas has made access and relief delivery challenging. The government has urged citizens to prioritize vigilance as more extreme weather is expected across the country. The Eastern Cape Province, the birthplace of Nelson Mandela, is among the poorest regions in South Africa, with 72% of the population living below the poverty line. The disaster has further highlighted the province's vulnerability to climate change and its consequences, as South Africa is increasingly susceptible to climate variability and change, which can result in intensified droughts, floods, and wildfires.

The unexpected floods in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province have led to a surge in environmental-science discussions, as the region struggles with the aftermath of climate-change-induced weather events.
Amidst the general-news coverage of the tragic floods, the health implications for the affected communities have begun to surface, prompting concerns within the global health arena.
A stark reminder of the intersection between politics and disaster relief has emerged in South Africa, as the government faces criticism for its response to the flooding disaster in the underprivileged Eastern Cape.
In the midst of the crime-and-justice upheavals across the country, the flood-related deaths and missing persons have compounded the societal issues, raising questions about the efficacy of disaster response mechanisms.
As the search for survivors and missing persons continues, scientists in the field of environmental-science are working tirelessly to analyze the impact of the floods on South Africa's climate and weather patterns, shedding light on future preventative measures in the face of ongoing climate change.