President Cyril Ramaphosa traveled to the town of Mthatha in Eastern Cape province, where the floods hit hardest when they began early Tuesday.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will visit the sites Friday of devastating floods that have left at least 78 people dead in the southeast of the country as search and rescue operations continue for a fourth day and authorities say they expect the death toll to rise.

The death toll in floods in one of South Africa's poorest provinces rose to at least 78 on Thursday as a top official said rescue attempts in the first hours after the disaster had been "paralyzed" by a lack of resources.