Six people swept away in Coffee Bay, bridges down, schools flooded

Six people have been swept away during heavy rains that have left a trail of damage in Coffee Bay, Eastern Cape.

Sonwabo Mampoza, spokesperson for the King Sabata Dalindyebo local municipality, said heavy rains which started on Thursday have caused serious damage in the area, flooding schools and sweeping away infrastructure.

“There are six people that have been swept away by the Mapuzi river in Coffee Bay. Officials and members of the community are currently walking up and down the river searching for these people,” he said.

Mampoza said Mthonjana bridge, Zulwini bridge and Coffee Bay bridge, which links Coffee Bay and Hole In The Wall, have all been washed away, while Tyelinzima High School was flooded.

“All the classrooms at the school are gone, including furniture and books ... Right now the executive mayor, councillor Nyaniso Nelani, is leading the team from OR Tambo disaster management. They are visiting villages to assess the extent of the damage that occurred in the area,” Mampoza said.

Gauteng, North West, the southern parts of KwaZulu-Natal and eastern parts of the Eastern Cape have been experiencing heavy rains over the past four days which have forced some municipalities in these areas to activate disaster management teams.

On Tuesday, the department of co-operative governance and traditional affairs, which is responsible for disaster management nationally, announced that 12 people had been killed in floods.

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