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Zawya
21-07-2025
- Health
- Zawya
South Africa: Eastern Cape floods cause $282mln in damage – health facilities among worst hit
Homes, roads, bridges, schools and clinics were swept away as floods tore through the Eastern Cape — causing damage estimated at R5bn, with health facilities among the hardest hit. The Eastern Cape government says it will need at least R88m to repair hospitals and clinics damaged during the disaster. The province's Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) department confirmed that 63 healthcare facilities sustained damage in the deluge. The severe weather, which struck 38 days ago, caused widespread destruction across the Alfred Nzo, Chris Hani, Joe Gqabi and Sarah Baartman municipalities, while the OR Tambo and Amathole districts were the most severely affected. Providing an update from Mthatha on Wednesday, 17 July 2025 Cogta MEC Zolile Williams said recovery and disaster-response efforts were underway, with health infrastructure forming a key focus due to the level of destruction. 'Repairs will cost approximately R88m,' said Williams. 'Immediate repair work has already started at some facilities, and primary healthcare services have continued to reach the hardest-hit communities.' Williams added that a comprehensive assessment and verification of infrastructure damage had been completed by technical teams, paving the way for targeted recovery operations. All rights reserved. © 2022. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
TimesLIVE
04-07-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
UDM donates R300K to flood relief in Mthatha
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) has donated R300,000 in flood relief to assist victims hit by devastating floods in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape last month. More than 100 bodies have been recovered from districts. OR Tambo remains the hardest hit with 78 fatalities, Amathole recorded 10, Alfred Nzo five, Joe Gqabi two, Sarah Baartman two and Chris Hani five. UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said the fund will be used to help victims buy basic essentials such as food and toiletries. 'We expect the amount to be stretched to assist as many people as possible and we trust the UDM committee and the communities' committee will exercise wise and responsible discretion in the spending of the funds,' he said in a letter to UDM provincial secretary Bulelani Bobotyane. 'A date for the distribution of the care packages must be determined and publicised to ensure community awareness. Receipts for all expenses must be collected and safely stored and the originals submitted to the UDM national office. The national office must be informed of the distribution plans before any handover taking place.' He said Butterworth victims will benefit from the proceeds of the Bantu Holomisa Charity Golf Day scheduled for August 22. A few weeks ago, the party donated clothes and food parcels to three centres for Mthatha flood victims. Several organisations and entities, including the National Lottery Commission, Gift of the Givers and the EFF, have pledged to donate to the Eastern Cape flood crisis. The Eastern Cape government has provided shelter, meals and necessities to families placed in community care centres and accommodation establishments in and around Mthatha.
IOL News
26-06-2025
- General
- IOL News
SANDF HAD NO RESOURCES FOR EC FLOODS
The number of people who have died due to flooding in the Eastern Cape has risen to over a hundred. Image: Supplied NO SOUTH African Air Force helicopters were available to assist with emergency operations in the Eastern Cape when the flooding occurred on June 10. It only became available seven days after tragedy struck as the death toll continued to climb, and this week surpassed 100, with a 5-year-old child being among the latest to be retrieved. Until Wednesday, the SANDF had remained tight-lipped about failure to deploy resources to affected regions in need of support. In response to the Cape Times' question, the SANDF said they were only alerted by the provincial authorities on the day of the incident on June 10. 'The South African Air Force Command Post (AFCP) received the first request for assistance with helicopter capabilities in the Eastern Cape (due to flooding) on 10 June 2025. At the time, there were no SAAF helicopter capabilities available. Upon receiving the second request for assistance on 16 June 2025, one (1) Oryx helicopter capability became available and was tasked to deploy on 17 June 2025,' the SANDF said. It remains unclear why the Oryx was only available seven days after the tragedy struck. IOL previously reported that the medium utility aircraft essential for rescue missions - was not deployed during the flooding, primarily due to a shortage of Flight Engineers. The flooding in the Amathole and OR Tambo districts between June 9 and 10 affected over 6 800 households, with more than 4 700 of them now homeless. There was also significant damage to road infrastructure, leaving 51 roads impassable. The Eastern Cape government says completed infrastructure damage assessments peg the costs for repairing damaged infrastructure at an estimated R5.1 billion. 'Efforts by search and recovery teams are ongoing as the province continues to respond to the disaster and assist affected communities. The confirmed recoveries have been recorded across several districts, with OR Tambo reporting the highest number at 77, followed by Amathole with 10 recoveries, Alfred Nzo and Chris Hani each with 5, while Joe Gqabi and Sarah Baartman districts reported 2 recoveries each. The gender breakdown shows that 49 are men and 52 are women. In terms of age, 63 of the recovered individuals are adults, while 38 children. 'The process of identification is now complex, with some bodies in a state of decomposition and as such DNA testing may be required in certain cases, which could lengthen the identification process,' said the Eastern Cape government. The Eastern Cape government and its national counterpart have come under sharp criticism for how they responded to the disaster, in particular for failure to prepare despite early warning. Western Cape Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning spokesperson, Wouter Kriel said the province offered support through the intergovernmental disaster coordination mechanisms facilitated by the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC). 'We offered the deployment of a specialist rescue team from the Western Cape's emergency services and partners. This team is highly trained in swift water rescue and has experience in operating in complex disaster environments. While the Eastern Cape appreciated the offer of assistance, they did not request the physical deployment of Western Cape resources. As such, no teams or equipment were mobilised, although we remained on standby should the situation escalate or their needs change,' Kriel said
