There were floods in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in February and March, then again in September and again in December 2023.

February–March

Floods hit South Africa in February–March 2023, caused by heavy rainfall as a result of the

La Niña La Niña (; ) is an oceanic and atmospheric phenomenon that is the colder counterpart of as part of the broader El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate pattern. The name ''La Niña'' originates from Spanish for "the girl", by an ...

weather phenomenon, affecting seven provinces, including

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

, and

North West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

. The floods have caused casualties and damage to homes, businesses, basic infrastructure, roads, bridges and affected crops and livestock. At least twelve people were killed across the provinces and others are missing. In addition to that, two more fatalities have been reported in

King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality is a municipality situated in the inland of Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The municipality is made up of Mthatha and Mqanduli. The King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality is one of the seven lo ...

(Eastern Cape Province), and one person in Komani Town (formerly Queenstown). Several people have been evacuated in

Lekwa Local Municipality Lekwa Local Municipality is a South African local municipality situated in the southwest of the Gert Sibande District Municipality of Mpumalanga. Standerton, an urban node, is the seat of the Lekwa Local Municipality. The municipality was inaugu ...

and residents in the area of

Vaal The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Ocean. I ...

Vanderkloof Vanderkloof is a town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is located on the Orange River and near the Rolfontein Nature Reserve. The village is on the site of the Vanderkloof Dam, (formerly the P.K. le Roux Dam), 9 km north-e ...

, and

Bloemhof Bloemhof is an agricultural town of about 2,000 inhabitants situated on the banks of the Vaal River in North West Province of South Africa. History It was founded in August 1864 when diamonds were discovered in the area. The town was established ...

dams along the

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the north ...

(Northern Cape Province) were invited to evacuate after controlled water discharge operate by local authorities. In

province, about 300 families have been evacuated. The

South African Weather Service The South African Weather Service (SAWS) is the meteorological service under the South African government's Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. SAWS is a member of the World Meteorological Organization. Under the South African Wea ...

predicted "persistent and heavy" rains ahead, with the risk of further flooding due to "waterlogged soils and saturated rivers". In response to the floods, President

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

declared on February 13 the State of National Disaster in seven provinces. On 23 March, heavy rainfall caused flash flooding in parts of the Eastern Cape. The worst affected municipalities were Ingquza Hill, King Sabata Dalindyebo, and

Port St Johns Port St. Johns (or Port Saint Johns) is a town of about 6,500 people on the Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated at the mouth of the Umzimvubu River, northeast of East London and east of Mthatha. Port St. John ...

. Local authorities reported at least three people died and one was reported missing. The flooding caused collapsed bridges, limiting movement in the flood-hit Port St Johns area. The cost of the damage was estimated to be around R4.5 billion in Eastern Cape and R337 million in Mpumalanga.

September, Western Cape

Further floods hit

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

in September 2023.

December, KwaZulu-Natal

On 30 December,

Flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...

ing killed 21 people in

, South Africa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:South Africa floods, 2023

Floods A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

2023 floods in Africa

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

February–March

September, Western Cape

December, KwaZulu-Natal

See also

References