Pretoria: The Eastern Cape Provincial Government has announced that a total of 95 bodies have been recovered across various districts, following the recent floods, including the bodies of two teenage males discovered yesterday afternoon. This as the search and recovery efforts continue.
According to South African Government News Agency, out of the recovered bodies, 86 have been identified and have been collected by their families, and processes are underway for the identification of the remaining bodies. The provincial government is coordinating the provision of burial support for the victims of the disaster. This support includes the storage of the bodies, burial services, and transportation of the remains to the area identified by the families for burial.
The provincial government has made this support possible through collaboration with AVBOB and is engaging with other funeral parlours to mobilize support in line with the needs of the families. So far, government support has been provided to 26 deceased persons who were buried from Thursday to this weekend.
In addition to the burial services, government assistance to bereaved families includes the extension of the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), which offers financial support for funeral preparations. Interlink Express has donated grocery hampers, and the Department of Education has provided financial support of R5000 per deceased learner. Various local municipalities are helping with grave preparation where necessary. The Department of Home Affairs has deployed emergency and mobile services for bereaved and displaced families, with three mobile offices each in Butterworth and Mthatha.
Through these interventions, 311 individuals in Mthatha and 145 in Butterworth are being assisted to replace their birth certificates and IDs lost due to the disaster. All six mobile offices will remain on-site this week to continue providing support to the survivors as they rebuild their lives.
The integrated search and recovery teams, assisted by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), continue to work tirelessly to locate and recover any remaining bodies. From Monday, a team from the North West Provincial Government will join the search and recovery efforts, increasing the number of teams to four.
The provincial government has welcomed the support of government institutions and non-governmental organizations involved in rescue and recovery efforts, including the provision of humanitarian support. Eastern Cape Acting Premier, Mlungisi Mvoko, has acknowledged the role played by ordinary citizens in cooperating with authorities and providing necessary assistance during this challenging time.
The provincial government remains committed to speeding up efforts to ensure that affected communities are supported in rebuilding their lives.