At least 78 dead in South Africa floods as official says rescue attempts were 'paralyzed'

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — The death toll in floods in one of South Africa's poorest provinces rose to at least 78 on Thursday as a top official said rescue attempts in the first hours after the disaster had been ''paralyzed'' by a lack of resources.

Rescue teams spent a third day working through debris and floodwater to find missing people and retrieve bodies after heavy rain caused a river to burst its banks in the predawn hours of Tuesday. The worst floods hit the town of Mthatha and surrounding areas, sweeping away victims along with parts of their houses and cars.

Oscar Mabuyane, the premier of Eastern Cape province, said the floods struck while many people were asleep. The water was 3-4 meters (10-13 feet) high in places when it flowed out of a river and into nearby communities, he added.

''It's a terrible situation,'' Mabuyane told state TV broadcaster SABC. ''It happened at the wrong time."

Mabuyane said local authorities struggled to launch an effective rescue effort as the disaster happened in what he described as a region lacking resources.

He said the largely rural Eastern Cape province in southeastern South Africa, which is home to around 7.2 million people, only has one rescue helicopter. It came to Mthatha from the city of Gqeberha, more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) away. A second helicopter was also brought in to help.

He also said the region does not have any specialist rescue divers or K-9 dog units, meaning they had to be called in from elsewhere to help with the search.

''When things like this happen, we are always found wanting," said Mabuyane. "We are paralyzed."

People were stranded on rooftops and in trees

Rescue teams brought bodies out of the water in blue body bags. Witnesses said many people had taken refuge on the tops of buildings or in trees and some were heard calling for help for hours.

The death toll had risen to 78 by Thursday evening, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa said on SABC.

He led a national government delegation to the province and earlier briefed reporters at one of the affected areas.

''This is a real disaster and a catastrophe when we have so many people dying,'' Hlabisa said. He added that part of the problem was that many people in the area were living on a flood plain close to the river.

Provincial government officials said they believed people were still missing but did not give an exact number and rescue efforts would continue on Friday.

The missing had included four high school students who were swept away when their bus was caught up in the floods on its way to school early Tuesday morning. Authorities did not immediately say if those four children were among the latest bodies retrieved.

Six students who were on the bus had already been confirmed dead, along with the driver and another adult. Three other students were rescued after clinging onto trees and calling out for help, according to the provincial government.

Authorities had issued weather warnings

The floods hit the province after an extreme cold front brought heavy rain, strong winds and snow to parts of eastern and southern South Africa. Forecasters had warned about the damaging weather last week.

Officials said at least 127 schools and 20 health facilities in the Eastern Cape were damaged, while around 1,000 people were in community shelters after their houses were submerged or washed away. Critical infrastructure including roads and bridges was also badly damaged, Mabuyane said.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that he would travel to the Eastern Cape on Friday ''to see exactly how our people are suffering there and see how we can console the families.'' Ramaphosa announced earlier in the week that he had activated the National Disaster Management Center to help local authorities in the Eastern Cape.

Some opposition political parties criticized the government, with the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters party saying the tragedy was a result of ''government neglect'' in parts of the Eastern Cape.

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Gumede reported from Johannesburg.

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