Rescuers went door to door searching for bodies or possible survivors, after people became stuck inside their homes when the water rushed in during the night.
By
Channels Television
Updated June 14, 2025
A resident of an informal settlement gestures as she walks through her yard after a flood near Mthatha on June 12, 2025. South Africa rescue teams recovered more bodies Thursday, days after heavy rains and strong winds battered the Eastern Cape province, as the death toll rose to at least 78. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)
Rescue teams on Saturday recovered more victims of heavy flooding that struck South Africa’s Eastern Cape province earlier in the week, with the death toll rising to at least 86.
President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the poverty-stricken province on Friday and said the “catastrophic disaster” was due to climate change.
Police minister Senzo Mchunu said on Saturday he had received news of “the overall figure in the province rising to 86”.
Forensic Pathology Services along with Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Gift of the Givers Foundation search and rescue team retrieve bodies from a one room dwelling after a flood near Mthatha on June 12, 2025. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)
Residents of an informal settlement clean up their house and yard after a flood near Mthatha on June 12, 2025. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attends a community meeting after a flood near Mthatha on June 13, 2025. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)
Rescuers went door to door searching for bodies or possible survivors, after people became stuck inside their homes when the water rushed in during the night.
Some managed to escape to their roofs, where they waited long hours for help.
A displaced resident offers some food to a child inside a temporary shelter in a school after a flood near Mthatha on June 13, 2025. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived on June 13, 2025 in South Africa’s flood-devastated Eastern Cape province, where a torrential storm killed at least 78 people, with the search for more bodies ongoing. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)
A man looks on from a bridge where a school bus was swept away by a flood near Mthatha on June 13, 2025. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived on June 13, 2025 in South Africa’s flood-devastated Eastern Cape province, where a torrential storm killed at least 78 people, with the search for more bodies ongoing. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)
A resident of an informal settlement sweeps mud out of her dwelling after a flood near Mthatha on June 12, 2025. South Africa rescue teams recovered more bodies Thursday, days after heavy rains and strong winds battered the Eastern Cape province, as the death toll rose to at least 78. The worst-hit area was around the city of Mthatha, about 800 kilometres (500 miles) south of Johannesburg, where residents picked through the mud three days later to salvage what they could from their destroyed homes. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)
Among the dead were at least six children and three adults who were on a school bus that was swept away in the flood.
Three students were rescued after clinging to trees but four were still missing on Saturday.
A resident of an informal settlement scrapes mud out of her dwelling after a flood near Mthatha on June 12, 2025. South Africa rescue teams recovered more bodies Thursday, days after heavy rains and strong winds battered the Eastern Cape province, as the death toll rose to at least 78. The worst-hit area was around the city of Mthatha, about 800 kilometres (500 miles) south of Johannesburg, where residents picked through the mud three days later to salvage what they could from their destroyed homes. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)
Forensic Pathology Services along with Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Gift of the Givers Foundation search and rescue team retrieve bodies from a one room dwelling after a flood near Mthatha on June 12, 2025. South Africa rescue teams recovered more bodies Thursday, days after heavy rains and strong winds battered the Eastern Cape province, as the death toll rose to at least 78. The worst-hit area was around the city of Mthatha, about 800 kilometres (500 miles) south of Johannesburg, where residents picked through the mud three days later to salvage what they could from their destroyed homes. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)
Snow and heavy rainfall are common during winter in South Africa but coastal parts of the country were affected by “unprecedented” weather conditions, Ramaphosa said on Thursday.
According to the Green Climate Fund, the country is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate variability and change, which increases the frequency and severity of extreme weather.
A resident of an informal settlement sweeps mud out of her dwelling after a flood near Mthatha on June 12, 2025. South Africa rescue teams recovered more bodies Thursday, days after heavy rains and strong winds battered the Eastern Cape province, as the death toll rose to at least 78. The worst-hit area was around the city of Mthatha, about 800 kilometres (500 miles) south of Johannesburg, where residents picked through the mud three days later to salvage what they could from their destroyed homes. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)
