Africa News
South African flood's death count: at least 123
Jan 24, 2011, 13:31 GMT
Capetown - At least 123 people have died in floods across South Africa in recent weeks, reported the newspaper Business Day Monday, citing official sources.
Government officials had, on January 18, set the death toll at 50.
Officials also reported that 20,000 people are currently homeless due to the floods. Thirty-three communities in seven of South Africa's nine provinces have been declared emergency zones. The bulk of the victims have been in the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal.
The floods have also caused significant damage to South Africa's agriculture sector, with production of corn, sunflower seeds and raisins all affected.
The economic sector could see damages in the billions of rand (1 billion rand = 141 million dollars) due to the flooding and storms, said Agriculture Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson, reported the newspaper.
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