AT LEAST 10 people have died as a result of the torrential rains that fell in Limpopo over the past few days.
Six of the victims died in the Vhembe region, far north of the province, and four died in the Mopani region.
Two of the deceased in Vhembe died after the houses in which they were sleeping collapsed on them, presumably because of the rain.
Three children and an adult died in Mopani at the weekend as a result of drowning.
The rains started falling last Wednesday and have wreaked havoc in most parts of the province, leaving scores of people homeless and roads damaged.
Rescue teams have been sent to areas along the Limpopo River, where many communities are in danger of being washed away by the raging waters.
Yesterday, police had their hands full searching for the bodies of four people who allegedly drowned in the overflowing Limpopo River near the Beitbridge border post between South Africa and Zimbabwe.
According to police, the four were clinging to a tree on Sunday afternoon when it was uprooted and they were washed away.
At least four helicopters were busy rescuing people from the area. By yesterday afternoon, more than 500 people had been rescued and 334 of them were taken to the All Days Community Hall while the remainder were taken to Musina military base.
Yesterday, MEC for cooperative governance, human settlements and traditional affairs Clifford Motsepe visited the badly affected areas to assess the damage and to see how best government can respond. He said the hardest-hit areas were the Musina, Makhado, Mutale, Thulamela and Giyani municipalities.
Motsepe was accompanied by roads and transport MEC Pitsi Moloto, safety, security and liaison MEC Florence Radzilani and health MEC Norman Mabasa.
"As a provincial government working with municipalities, we have so far delivered more than 2500 blankets and more than 100 tents to displaced people in various parts of the province," said Motsepe.
He added that food parcels had been dispatched to the affected areas and that they had also engaged the services of the Red Cross to feed the affected people.
Motsepe said they had also called in two additional helicopters from Free State and Pretoria to assist in rescuing people. - frankm@sowetan.co.za
10 dead, 4 missing after heavy rains
AT LEAST 10 people have died as a result of the torrential rains that fell in Limpopo over the past few days.
Six of the victims died in the Vhembe region, far north of the province, and four died in the Mopani region.
Two of the deceased in Vhembe died after the houses in which they were sleeping collapsed on them, presumably because of the rain.
Three children and an adult died in Mopani at the weekend as a result of drowning.
The rains started falling last Wednesday and have wreaked havoc in most parts of the province, leaving scores of people homeless and roads damaged.
Rescue teams have been sent to areas along the Limpopo River, where many communities are in danger of being washed away by the raging waters.
Yesterday, police had their hands full searching for the bodies of four people who allegedly drowned in the overflowing Limpopo River near the Beitbridge border post between South Africa and Zimbabwe.
According to police, the four were clinging to a tree on Sunday afternoon when it was uprooted and they were washed away.
At least four helicopters were busy rescuing people from the area. By yesterday afternoon, more than 500 people had been rescued and 334 of them were taken to the All Days Community Hall while the remainder were taken to Musina military base.
Yesterday, MEC for cooperative governance, human settlements and traditional affairs Clifford Motsepe visited the badly affected areas to assess the damage and to see how best government can respond. He said the hardest-hit areas were the Musina, Makhado, Mutale, Thulamela and Giyani municipalities.
Motsepe was accompanied by roads and transport MEC Pitsi Moloto, safety, security and liaison MEC Florence Radzilani and health MEC Norman Mabasa.
"As a provincial government working with municipalities, we have so far delivered more than 2500 blankets and more than 100 tents to displaced people in various parts of the province," said Motsepe.
He added that food parcels had been dispatched to the affected areas and that they had also engaged the services of the Red Cross to feed the affected people.
Motsepe said they had also called in two additional helicopters from Free State and Pretoria to assist in rescuing people. - frankm@sowetan.co.za
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