Bodies of four children recovered in flooded Mthatha following heavy rains
Four schoolchildren are among the multiple bodies that have been recovered at Slovo Park in Mthatha, Eastern Cape.
Estimates, based on the latest recoveries, put the province's death toll into double digits.
News24 counted nine bodies at the scene on Wednesday.
Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane is visiting the area where communities have been displaced by flooding.
The area was struck by heavy rain on Tuesday. Residents, pictured briefing the premier, have been recovering the bodies of those who died in the flooding.
Several bodies were recovered while Mabuyane was at the scene.
The premier said he expected the death toll in the province to rise significantly as residents began accessing their homes that had been submerged in water.
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Cabinet urges vigilance amid extreme weather, sends condolences to Eastern Cape flood victims
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said the government was coordinating rescue efforts and supporting communities affected by flooding in the Eastern Cape. Ntshavheni urged South Africans to remain vigilant in the coming days as severe weather conditions continue to sweep through parts of the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Free State. President Cyril Ramaphosa will visit the Eastern Cape on Friday following deadly floods that claimed 57 lives, displaced families and damaged infrastructure. President Cyril Ramaphosa's Cabinet has extended its condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones in the flooding that hit several parts of the Eastern Cape. Addressing a post-Cabinet meeting briefing in Cape Town on Thursday, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said several families have been displaced and infrastructure damaged. She added Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa announced that 57 people have been declared dead, while searches were under way for missing people, including pupils whose minibus taxi was swept away by floodwaters this week. 'The government is coordinating rescue and support operations through national and provincial Disaster Management Centres as coordinated by the inter-ministerial committee on disaster management. 'Emergency teams have been deployed from Gqeberha, East London, and Chris Hani Districts to the affected areas to support local first responders.' Ntshavheni said the Cabinet cautioned South Africans to be vigilant over the next few days as extreme weather swept through some parts of the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Free State. South Africans are urged to check the weather in case of drops in temperature, snowfall, strong winds, and heavy rains before leaving home and travelling. The minister added: 'We don't want a repeat of what happened earlier in the year when people were trapped on the entry to KwaZulu-Natal more so because the impact of snowing or climate change is so severe that it's not normal snow or rainfall and flooding. 'It's not only normal cold weather, but also extreme, and we must take precautions. We do not want to count more victims of extreme weather conditions.' Ntshavheni said while the government was committed to climate change programmes and management, there were aspects of 'man-made' disasters. 'Some people continue to reside in low-lying areas, within the flood line, and even when you remove them, they continue to return.' She added the issue was not new. 'You'll recall that Gauteng, for some period, suffered serious impact by those who stayed within the flood lines of the Jukskei River, and [during an earlier briefing], we indicated that at some point, the disaster management and planning teams will have to make a report to Cabinet and propose a complete relocation of the area.' She added: And we hope South Africans will understand and will not say we are victimising poor people when we have to demolish structures that are on flood lines when we have to remove people who are building, in particular, informal settlements that are being built in the flood lines. Ntshavheni said government was committed to accelerating the building of proper housing structures through the National House Building Council (NHBRC). She added that the government was also committed to completely eradicating mud houses. 'We are confident that the NHBRC is working to ensure that it revises and improves the standards for home building. 'I think we need to work together as South Africans and understand and stop politicising infrastructure development more so that we know that we need real and weather-sustaining or withstanding infrastructure.' I will be going to Mthatha in the Eastern Cape tomorrow to be with our people who are suffering, to console them and to give support. We pay our condolences to the families that have lost loved ones in the flood disaster. We must ensure that we build much needed capacity to… — Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) June 12, 2025 Meanwhile, speaking at the Africa Green Hydrogen Summit in Cape Town on Thursday, Ramaphosa said he would be visiting the Eastern Cape on Friday to console the families and provide support to them. 'We send our condolences to those families who lost their loved ones and will support the Eastern Cape government to deal with this disaster. We have also witnessed deadly heatwaves, heavy rains, and fires here in the Western Cape. We have also witnessed tropical cyclones in other parts of our continent and prolonged droughts, particularly in the Free State and Eastern Cape.' He added these events underscored South Africa's shared vulnerability and responsibility to act and adapt without leaving people and communities behind.
