JOHANNESBURG – South African authorities say at least 39 people have died in flooding and thunderstorms in the eastern part of the country.
Provincial disaster management confirmed Friday that 26 people, including 4 children, have died as a result of adverse weather conditions in the rural Eastern Cape province since mid-December.
In neighboring KwaZulu-Natal province, police say six people drowned as a result of flooding last week, in addition to seven people killed in a lightning strike there Sunday.
Disaster management spokesman John Fobian says hundreds of people have been displaced across the country as heavy rain has damaged property, marooned farms, and destroyed crops. He says that while the storms aren’t unusual, the number of deaths this year is “particularly high”.
