News24 | ‘The water was around my neck’: Eastern Cape death toll at 75 as residents recount escape

• At least 75 people have died in devastating floods in the Eastern Cape.
• Gift of the Givers retrieved a further eight bodies in Mdeni village outside Mthatha, adding to the 67 announced on Thursday afternoon by Cooperative Governance Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa.
• More than 70 schools have been affected, disrupting exams.

At least 75 people have died in the Eastern Cape as severe floods and storms left a trail of destruction, especially in Mthatha West.

At a briefing on Thursday afternoon by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa and Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, it was announced that 21 victims had been positively identified.

The government has called on residents of the affected areas to come forward and identify the deceased at the Mthatha Forensic Mortuary, where identification efforts are under way.

Meanwhile, the search for more bodies continued on Thursday.

Gift of the Givers’ Ali Sablay told News24 on Thursday night that they had retrieved a further eight bodies in Mdeni village outside Mthatha, bringing the total to 75 from the 67 Hlabisa had announced in the afternoon.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to visit the area on Friday.

In the afternoon, Hlabisa said the deceased included six pupils from Jumba Senior Secondary School who were swept away by the floods and later found dead.

Four of the 13 pupils from the scholar transport bus which washed away are still missing.

Three of them were found alive.

Talking about those who had died, Hlabisa said: “[These] are not just numbers, but these are human beings, some of the breadwinners, some of them the only children at their homes.”

He cautioned against people building their homes on flood plains and riverbanks.

Hlabisa said he was satisfied that where they visited on Thursday, many residents agreed that building homes in such areas was dangerous.

“This is a very big number to have been lost or to have perished in a single natural disaster, which has ever been experienced in the Eastern Cape,” he said.

READ | Seven dead as flooding devastates Eastern Cape, search continues for missing schoolchildren

About 1 000 people have been displaced in the Amathole District Municipality alone and are being sheltered in community facilities.

Hlabisa said relief is being provided to affected residents, including food, blankets, water, and primary healthcare services.

Gwarube described the situation as a disaster.

“We visited the parents and families of the [school] children who are either missing or have been confirmed dead to express our condolences and to assure these communities reeling from the shock of a disaster of such magnitude that as government, we are here for these communities,” she said.

Gwarube said they would be assisting these families and ensuring a decent burial for those who died.

“We also visited Jumba Senior Secondary School, where we spoke to the learners, many of whom are receiving social support. This is not only a traumatic experience for these families who have lost loved ones, but it’s also traumatic for the learners who are at that school,” she said.

Gwarube said 70 schools from the province have been affected by storms.

The June exams were particularly affected, but contingency plans were made for those who missed exams.

Eastern Cape Cogta MEC Zolile Williams said electricity and water were being restored.

“Some roads and bridges have been mopped up already and are drivable,” he said.

On Thursday morning in Decoligny village, where many people drowned, resident Senzo Bhakama, 50, said he and a search party of fellow residents found the bodies of two neighbours under mud, metres away from their homestead.

“We woke up at 04:00 on [Tuesday]. We located about nine bodies in a space of a few hours. I have never seen something like this in my life. We are saddened, traumatised and struggling to come to terms with the discovery of so many bodies in our village,” Bhakama said.

Nkosiyakhe Ntshwaqa, 42, said he was woken up with water raging through his door.

He said:

Ntshwaqa said he tried to assist his neighbour, who struggled to save his child, and who later died in his mother’s arms.

Lindile Tyabule said he battled to save his three children, aged between three months and six years.

“I was still in my gown on Tuesday morning, when I was woken by huge amounts of water coming into our house. This happened very fast. I have never seen something like that. I was really afraid and thinking about my children.

“At that time, our neighbours were screaming with their houses covered in water. We are very lucky that we were able to save our children,” said Tyabule.

Eastern Cape government spokesperson Khuselwa Rantjie said a reception area has been set up at Sir Henry Elliot Hall near the mortuary to offer counselling to affected families.

Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers has assisted about 1 000 flood victims with meals and clothing.

“Additional supplies and resources have been brought in from other provinces to support relief efforts. Full-scale operations will be extended to the Mthatha area in the coming days in coordination with the OR Tambo District Municipality,” said Sablay.