CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The death toll in floods in South Africa's Eastern Cape province has risen to 86, the police minister said Saturday as rescuers continued to retrieve bodies from the floodwater.
Senzo Mchunu, the country's top law enforcement official, spoke to police rescue teams that have been searching for missing people and recovering bodies in and around the town of Mthatha since the floods hit in the predawn hours of Tuesday.
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A man with a child look at a home submerged in floodwater, in Mthatha, South Africa, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Hoseya Jubase)
A man sits on the ground as a minister addresses flood victims outside a temporary shelter at a church following floodsin Mthatha, South Africa, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Forensic workers retrieve bodies of a mother and three daughters from inside a one room house after floods swept through the area in Mthatha, South Africa, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Flood-damaged housing in Mthatha, South Africa, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
A police rescue officer searches for missing people of this week's floods in Mthatha, South Africa, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Mchunu said the floods were a tragedy but urged local residents to ignore what he called inaccurate reports spreading on social media that the disaster was caused by someone opening the sluice gates at a nearby dam, leading to water surging through communities. Mchunu said the Mthatha Dam in question did not have sluice gates.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday during a visit to Mthatha that authorities would investigate if there were any problems with the local dam that might have led to the tragedy.
A wall of water 3-4 meters (10-13 feet) high in places flowed out of the river, the head of the provincial government said, washing away victims with parts of their houses and trapping others inside their homes.
Ramaphosa partly attributed the rains and floods to climate change and said some of South Africa's coastal regions were now constantly vulnerable to weather-related disasters. More than 400 people died in flooding in and around South Africa's east coast city of Durban in 2022, which a study linked to climate change.
The floods in the Mthatha area and a neighboring district caught many people unaware despite weather services issuing warnings last week that an extreme cold front was heading for the region, bringing heavy rains and gale-force winds.
The largely rural region is one of the country's poorest and authorities said communities living in informal housing close to the river were especially vulnerable when it burst its banks. Authorities have been criticized for the rescue response but also for the state of the infrastructure in the area.
Officials believe that people are still missing and the death toll could rise further as rescue teams have been searching through floodwater and damaged homes for nearly a week. One of the bodies retrieved on Saturday was that of a boy that rescuers believed was around 13 or 14 years old.
Many children are among the dead, although authorities haven't given an exact count. Some of the victims were washed up to 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) away from their homes by the floods.
AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
A man with a child look at a home submerged in floodwater, in Mthatha, South Africa, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Hoseya Jubase)
A man sits on the ground as a minister addresses flood victims outside a temporary shelter at a church following floodsin Mthatha, South Africa, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Forensic workers retrieve bodies of a mother and three daughters from inside a one room house after floods swept through the area in Mthatha, South Africa, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Flood-damaged housing in Mthatha, South Africa, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
A police rescue officer searches for missing people of this week's floods in Mthatha, South Africa, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.
The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.
About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.
“After months of bargaining, management refused to make meaningful progress on core issues that nurses have been fighting for: safe staffing for patients, healthcare benefits for nurses, and workplace violence protections,” the union said in a statement issued Monday. “Management at the richest hospitals in New York City are threatening to discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits.”
The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.
The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.
“NYSNA’s leaders continue to double down on their $3.6 billion in reckless demands, including nearly 40% wage increases, and their troubling proposals like demanding that a nurse not be terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job," Montefiore spokesperson Joe Solmonese said Monday after the strike had started. "We remain resolute in our commitment to providing safe and seamless care, regardless of how long the strike may last.”
New York-Presbyterian accused the union of staging a strike to “create disruption,” but said in a statement that it has taken steps to ensure patients receive the care they need.
"We’re ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment,” the statement said.
The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.
The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.
Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.
The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.
The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.
Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.
Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”
“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.
State Attorney General Letitia James voiced similar support, saying "nurses put their lives on the line every day to keep New Yorkers healthy. They should never be forced to choose between their own safety, their patients’ well-being, and a fair contract.”
The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.
It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
FILE - A medical worker transports a patient at Mount Sinai Hospital, April 1, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
