JOHANNESBURG, June 11, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The death toll from flooding in 
eastern parts of South Africa has risen to nine as rescuers search for 
children missing after a school bus was swept away, the local government said 
Wednesday.

Heavy rainfall, snow and cold winds have affected areas of the Eastern Cape 
province, with most of the country experiencing brutal winter weather 
conditions since last week.

Floods caused by torrential rains in the OR Tambo district claimed nine 
lives, a statement from the local government said, raising an earlier toll of 
seven.

The search for missing children aboard a minibus taking them to school that 
was swept away by a flood near the city of Mthatha was ongoing Wednesday, it 
added.

Khuselwa Rantjie, spokeswoman for the Eastern Cape Provincial Government, 
told AFP she could not confirm how many children or adults were on the bus. 

South African TV station Newzroom Afrika with a reporter near the scene said 
that that 10 bodies were discovered on Wednesday afternoon. Several outlets 
reported that the bus could carry up to 22 people.

Separately, three children were rescued after spending hours in trees to 
escape rising waters. 

- Lack of resources -

Several hundred people have been displaced since Monday, according to the 
government, mainly from OR Tambo and Amathole districts, with some relocated 
in schools and town halls.

The local authority said it was providing hot meals and essentials to those 
housed in temporary shelters with support from several government agencies.

Eastern Cape top official Oscar Mabuyane told public broadcaster SABC News 
that only one helicopter was available in the province.

"We need more resources," he said. "We have never experienced disasters like 
this but now it's inevitable with climate change and global warming."

The "relentless downpours" also caused landslides and "significant damage to 
property and infrastructure", the local government added.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement that harsh winter conditions 
"remain life-threatening" adding that emergency services, including support 
from the National Disaster Management Centre, were "giving the requisite 
attention to crises as they unfold".

He called on South Africans "to display caution, care and cooperation as the 
worst impacts of winter weather take effect".

South Africa's national weather service has warned that severe and extreme 
winter weather conditions would persist until at least the middle of this 
week.

Snow and heavy rainfall are common during winter in South Africa but the 
country is also highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate variability and 
change, which increases the frequency and severity of drought, floods and 
wildfires, according to the Green Climate Fund.