South Africa's floods turned deadly because Limpopo wasn't prepared—how to prevent a repeat

Limpopo, in northern South Africa, home to 6.6 million people, several large mines and the Kruger National Park (one of Africa's largest game reserves), experienced unusually severe floods in mid-January 2026. Rural villages remained cut off from the world following the week-long heavy rains. The Kruger National Park was evacuated after camps and roads were flooded. The flooding caused an estimated R1.7 billion (US$106 million) worth of damage to homes, schools, roads and bridges. Climate change adaptation researcher Ephias Mugari explains that the impact of the floods was worsened by the poor shape of key infrastructure and limited plans for community-level evacuation. Clearer warnings, simple community measures and better flood preparedness could have saved lives.