On the night of 14 January, flooding in Limpopo province killed at least 10 people, nine of them in one village near Kruger National Park. Military helicopters lifted stranded residents from trees.
Limpopo had received around 400mm of rain in less than a week. More than 1,000 houses were damaged, many washed away entirely, and the park evacuated camps and stopped day visits.
Our summer of extremes is but a small foretaste of the climate impacts
James Reeler, senior climate specialist, WWF South Africa
Too much water in one place, too little in another
While the north-east flooded, parts of southern South Africa were dry and fighting wildfires. By 17 January, the floods had killed more than 100 people across South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
The rain didn’t stop at the border. Rivers flowing out of South Africa carried the floodwater into Mozambique.
What preparation changes
- Warning: alerts that reach villages before the river does.
- Safety: safe drinking water stored for the days after a flood.
- Recovery: rebuilt homes and roads away from the riverbanks.
How you can help
Share this story and follow organisations helping communities in southern Africa prepare for floods and droughts. Our next post follows the water downstream into Mozambique.
Source: The Peninsula / AFP, “Floods kill 10 in South Africa, Mozambique on alert”, 15 January 2026; Daily Observer, “Over 100 dead in torrential rains, floods across southern Africa”, 17 January 2026.
