Recent floods severely impacted parts of Gauteng Province and North West Province, including Soweto, Erkhuleni, Johannesburg, Vereeniging, Brakpan (Gauteng Province), and Rustenburg, Bojanala (North West Province) on December 10-11, 2022. The floods affected more than 40,000 people as reported by the IFRC on December 27, 2022.
Southern South Africa, particularly the Eastern Cape Province, experienced heavy rainfall over the last 24 hours, leading to floods and river overflow, notably the Komani River. These conditions prompted evacuations and caused damage. Media reports on February 9, 2023, indicated approximately 1,000 evacuated individuals, flooded hospitals, and numerous affected bridges and closed roads across the Komani Town area (formerly Queenstown, central Eastern Cape Province) according to ECHO.
A second wave of heavy rainfall occurred in February, resulting in a heightened level of flooding. On February 13, 2023, the government declared a National State of Disaster to facilitate an intensive, coordinated response to the floods impacting Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the Northern Cape, and North West provinces. Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape provinces, identified as the hardest hit since February 8, reported over 48 fatalities, 12 missing persons, and 1,568 displaced individuals, with Eastern Cape having the majority at 1,259 people. These affected individuals are currently housed in 12 evacuation centers, including one established during the floods on December 11. The impacts of the floods extend to homes, vehicles, overflowing dams, sewerage facilities, and damage to basic infrastructure, roads, bridges, and a Limpopo hospital, as reported by the IFRC on March 8, 2023.