By Ebi Kesiena
As flood continue to wreak havoc in Easter Cape, the number of people who have occupied community halls in Komani continues to increase.
According to reports some organisations under the agies, Gift of the Givers have reached out with humanitarian relief after the South African Weather Service issued a warning for the province.
Organisation coordinator in the province, Corene Conradie, noted that the government and local businesses had provided essential items like blankets and food.
Conradie said some families refused to evacuate their homes that were destroyed.
She said the organisation would, on Friday, travel to Emalahleni, where 227 families were displaced.
“One bridge collapsed in that area, and one man died when his house collapsed on him,” she said.
Chris Hani District Municipality spokesperson Bulelwa Ganyaza said about 1,000 people, including about 120 children and 24 infants, were housed at the Gali Thembani community hall.
Ganyaza said the number was expected to increase if heavy rains persisted. adding that disaster management teams were monitoring the situation.
Meanwhile, the Queenstown Private Hospital moved patients to Frontier Hospital after the facility was flooded.
The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) said this highlighted the need for collaboration between public and private healthcare systems.
Also, Provincial secretary Veli Sinqana said the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) would bridge the gap between the private and public healthcare systems and ensure equal access to healthcare.
“The two healthcare systems have a way of placing patients in silos with limited access to the other system even in the presence of help on the other side, which may not be readily available where the patient is at a particular moment,” said Sinqana.
