Eastern Cape flood death toll hits 67
The death toll from the Eastern Cape floods is now 67.
Cooperative Governance Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa confirmed the figure on Thursday afternoon.
He says six of the victims have so far been positively identified.
He says they are calling on affected families to come forward to identify the remaining bodies of their loved ones.
" There has been a report in the early morning hours which reported that there is a problem in terms of postmortem. I want to confirm that I spoke to the Minister of Health and the confirmation has been given that by 12 o'clock today, the 49 bodies that were confirmed as of yesterday have been completed."
READ: Ramaphosa to visit flood-hit Mthatha
Hlabisa is visiting Mthata after torrential downpours and strong winds wreaked havoc on Tuesday.
He says the government needs to take a tough stance and remove people living near river banks and floodplains.
"We will need the cooperation of our people because climate change is a reality. Next week, we might experience similar floods in the same area, and we might lose more people.
"So now this must be a countrywide decision to ensure that as a government we take a hard stance because these people were not allocated here by the municipalities, who should have considered the area where they are allocating people, and people decided to build on their own."
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