-
The overflowing Mohlapitsi River in Ga-Mampa village, Limpopo.
Two helicopters have been dispatched to airlift flood victims at Mbaula village outside Giyani, in Limpopo. Mopani District Municipality Spokesperson, Odas Ngobeni says a third helicopter from Pretoria has been commissioned.
Ngobeni says the village has been cut-off and it is being flooded. He says the victims will be taken to the Giyani Stadium for temporary shelter.
Three people who had been trapped between Mutale river and a stream at Gwakwani river outside Thohoyandou in Limpopo have been rescued. For more visit pic.twitter.com/Nd2Y4ie2YB
— SABC News (@SABCNews) January 13, 2026
The Mohlapitsi river in Ga-Mampa village, Mafefe is overflowing as the Limpopo province continues to experience floods. Learners and teachers who had planned to go to school on Wednesday had to turn back as some struggled to pass through the river. #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/n8O0OfAzkC
— SABC News Radio (@SABCNews_Radio) January 14, 2026
WATCH | Limpopo Provincial Government spokesperson Ndavhe Ramakuela says several areas in the province have been hit by floods, damaging roads and disrupting schooling. He adds that in the coming days they will focus on rescue operations and assessing the extent of the damage. pic.twitter.com/ov304CO2my
— SABC News (@SABCNews) January 14, 2026
“We are trying to get our people in Mbaula to our evacuation points. We currently have two choppers that have been dispatched to assist that particular community because the community has been cut off due to the flooded river. We want to appeal to members of the public to remain vigilant and report all emergencies to our call centre, which is operating 24 hours. But most importantly is that motorists must continue to drive with caution and maintain a safe following distance,” adds Ngobeni.
The Mopani district municipality says there are massive damages to road infrastructure in the area.
Ngobeni says besides the bridges which have been washed away or eroded, three houses have collapsed in the Bolobedu and Tzaneen areas.
The Mopani and Vhembe districts remain under the orange Level 9 warning for persistent rains. Ngobeni says their disaster management teams are on standby to help.
“Our concern was the damage to infrastructure but lately we are worried because over night, we are receiving reports that there are houses which have collapsed in different municipalities, fortunately there are no fatalities because you will know with the soil not heavily saturated we expect to see more of those cases. And we’ll want to then appeal to our communities as and when they feel threatened in any way with the rising water levels they should be able to ask for evacuation,” he says.
Ngobeni further says that water purification plants situated in rivers will not be functional due to flooding.
“We are also worried because with the persistent rains, most of our water treatment plants may not be able to provide or supply water to our communities, particularly those that we are directly abstracting from the river. We’ll find it difficult to abstract with the flooded rivers, so it may actually impact our capacity to supply water to some of this communities,” he says.
RELATED VIDEO | Climate Change | South Africa experiencing adverse weather conditions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-JsaxbSJug
