Residents of South Africa's rural Eastern Cape province are taking stock after flash floods ripped through their homes and communities. As many as 78 peple died and some survivors in Decoligny village say they've lost almost everything.
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00:00I jumped out, I see water here.
00:02I tried to open this door, the water was pulling in.
00:06And then you came out this way?
00:08Yes, I came out this way with my laptop on my head.
00:12The rain was like, yeah, the water was here.
00:17If it wasn't for a neighbor who threw rocks onto the roof to wake her up,
00:22Toza Mangejane would not have made it out of her house.
00:26She's lived in De Colini village for four years
00:29and says while it has rained heavily in the past,
00:32nothing could have prepared her for the recent deluge.
00:36A few days later, she's still assessing the damage.
00:41My couches are damaged because they are wet.
00:45They are full of water.
00:47My mattresses are like, they are wet.
00:50Everything, everything, my TV and my decoder
00:54is, even my wife is gone.
01:00I left nothing, nothing.
01:03Mangejane is just one of thousands of people
01:05affected by flash flooding
01:07which hit several Eastern Cape towns on Monday and Tuesday.
01:11The province is mostly rural
01:13and populated by small towns with poor infrastructure.
01:17At least 78 people were killed in the flooding
01:21which saw houses and bridges washed away.
01:25President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the area
01:28pledging government support to the affected communities.
01:33We are very, very disturbed that so many people
01:36have passed away
01:37but it could have been much worse.
01:39Many of the flooded areas border riverbanks
01:43and in some cases, houses are built on the floodplain.
01:47Residents of De Colini Village say they moved here
01:50because it's close to where the economic opportunities are
01:54in the Mtata city centre.
01:55They say they'd be reluctant to move
01:58because moving would mean having to go much further away.
02:02But government officials say
02:04that might be the only way to keep them safe
02:07considering how close this area is to the riverbank
02:10and how weather patterns have changed
02:12over the past few years.