South Africa declares state of disaster following severe weather

South Africa declared a national disaster on Thursday following severe weather in several parts of the country last week.

While the snow, heavy rains, and high winds have impacted several provinces, the area around the city Mthatha in the Eastern Cape was the hardest hit.

The death toll from flooding in the region has increased to 92, with that figure likely to rise as mop-up operations continue.

Officials say that 31 children were among the dead.

At least two school children who were in a bus that was washed away are among the unverified number of missing persons according to local media reports.

Authorities have appealed for residents to report missing people so rescuers could better understand how many people they were still looking for.

The province declared Thursday a day of mourning for the victims and a memorial service was held at a school in Mthatha, one of the few left intact.

More than 4,000 people have been left homeless as a result of the heavy rains which damaged infrastructure, homes, and interrupted services in one of the country’s poorest provinces.

The Eastern Cape government said work was underway to restore water and power supplies.

Declaring a national state of disaster allows the government to release funding for relief and rehabilitation in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, and Free State provinces.