(BSS/AFP) - The death toll from flooding in eastern parts of South Africa has risen to nine as rescuers search for children missing after a school bus was swept away, the local government said Wednesday.

Heavy rainfall, snow and cold winds have affected areas of the Eastern Cape province, with most of the country experiencing brutal winter weather conditions since last week.

Floods caused by torrential rains in the OR Tambo district claimed nine
lives, a statement from the local government said, raising an earlier toll of seven.

The search for missing children aboard a minibus taking them to school that
was swept away by a flood near the city of Mthatha was ongoing Wednesday, it
added.

Khuselwa Rantjie, spokeswoman for the Eastern Cape Provincial Government,
told AFP she could not confirm how many children or adults were on the bus.

South African TV station Newzroom Afrika with a reporter near the scene said
that that 10 bodies were discovered on Wednesday afternoon. Several outlets
reported that the bus could carry up to 22 people.

Separately, three children were rescued after spending hours in trees to
escape rising waters.

- Lack of resources -

Several hundred people have been displaced since Monday, according to the
government, mainly from OR Tambo and Amathole districts, with some relocated
in schools and town halls.

The local authority said it was providing hot meals and essentials to those
housed in temporary shelters with support from several government agencies.

Eastern Cape top official Oscar Mabuyane told public broadcaster SABC News
that only one helicopter was available in the province.

"We need more resources," he said. "We have never experienced disasters like
this but now it`s inevitable with climate change and global warming."

The "relentless downpours" also caused landslides and "significant damage to
property and infrastructure", the local government added.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement that harsh winter conditions
"remain life-threatening" adding that emergency services, including support
from the National Disaster Management Centre, were "giving the requisite
attention to crises as they unfold".

He called on South Africans "to display caution, care and cooperation as the
worst impacts of winter weather take effect".

South Africa`s national weather service has warned that severe and extreme
winter weather conditions would persist until at least the middle of this
week.

Snow and heavy rainfall are common during winter in South Africa but the
country is also highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate variability and
change, which increases the frequency and severity of drought, floods and
wildfires, according to the Green Climate Fund.