Torrential rain leaves trail of destruction in Limpopo and Mpumalanga

Torrential rains have left the Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces in absolute devastation.

At least 19 people, including children, have been reported dead after being swept away in the floods in both provinces, since November.

The South African Weather Service issued Level 9 and 10 warnings, with the heavy rains expected to persist throughout the weekend.

In Limpopo alone, more than 1,600 homes have been affected, many of them completely washed away. The South African National Defence Force has been deployed to help restore temporary road access.

Limpopo Premier, Phophi Ramathuba, says at least 439 roads – including four bridges leading to Phalaborwa – have been damaged, affecting more than 600 kilometres of road network.

She bemoaned the extent of the damage, saying even provincial reserve funds will not be enough to cover the costs.

“So our district and local municipalities have also reported damaged streets within their localities, which they shall include in the total costing.  These are the streets that access to clinics.  These are the streets that lead to police station.”

Ramathuba says rebuilding of the province will be a mammoth task, with preliminary estimates putting road repairs at around 1.7 billion rand.

She says while assessments continue, the estimated cost of repairing the roads will be around R1.7 billion.

” The sheer scale of the damage to the road network makes it impossible for the province and also our affected municipalities to have the ability to respond and the intervention of the national government.  In particular, Department of Transport through Sanral must be extended to provincial and district roads because on our own, even those provincial roads, even those municipality roads, it’s going to be very difficult for us,” she said.

Ramathuba added that economic activity has also been hampered in the province.

“We know what it means because workers are not able to go to work.  Some employers do not understand that employees have been cut off. ”

The Premier has also urged residents to avoid crossing rivers or bridges as the inclement weather persists.

In Mpumalanga, several schools were forced to suspend classes due to the severe weather.

The Kruger National Park also halted visits after staff accommodation was flooded overnight, forcing evacuations.

Search and rescue teams have been deployed to assist with the rescue of residents that were left stranded by severe flooding in parts of Limpopo. pic.twitter.com/hI8iemrbCT

— The Presidency 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) January 15, 2026

The @SANDF_ZA will be helping rrstorr some communuties pic.twitter.com/z6hRuvuJiA

— GCIS_Limpopo (@LimpopoGcis) January 16, 2026

Phalaborwa…. Friends lodge 😭
They were airlifted to safety…
The floods are devastating pic.twitter.com/edGsCEzYN7

— Cards (@Cardia_79) January 15, 2026

Heavy 🌧️ rain is continuing in venda Limpopo province,situation is bad we are strugling to get the public transport (taxis) because of floods… pic.twitter.com/3EIZJVXZeN

— Artist TREVOR🇿🇦 (@Trevor_sidogi) January 12, 2026