Image Source: The Citizen
Local – Two helicopters have been deployed by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to evacuate people stranded in Limpopo due to severe flooding and rising water levels.
President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the Limpopo province, where heavy rainfall and flooding have left at least 19 people dead and caused destruction to homes, businesses and infrastructure.
The President, together with Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni and Limpopo Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba, visited the Vhembe and Mopani Districts to assess the damage caused by the more than 400mm of rain that fell in the area.
Search and rescue teams from the South African Air Force’s 17th and 19th Squadrons responded to emergency activations, beginning with a mission to rescue a family from Mbaula village outside Giyani in the Mopani District.
Communities had already started rescue efforts before the military arrived, pulling people from rooftops as the Olifants River continued to rise.
The Department of Defence said residents had been working to save their neighbours from the floodwaters. People were being pulled from rooftops and high-lying areas as the river posed an increasing threat to nearby homes.
“The community informed the crew that they had rescued several people from the rooftops of their homes and from high-lying areas. One family member was rescued from a tree along the flooded Olifants River, which poses a threat to nearby residents,” the department stated.
Community Leaders Among the Rescued
A local Chief was pulled from the roof of his flooded home. The rescue operations began on Wednesday at 11 pm and continued until Thursday at 2 am, with crews working through severe weather to reach stranded residents.
The helicopters from Pretoria and Hoedspruit bases were deployed across flood-affected regions. Aircrews evacuated people from trees and took those needing urgent medical attention to Maphutha Hospital near Phalaborwa.
An ORYX helicopter rescued Border Management Authority and South African Police Service members trapped by floodwaters at Pafuri Port of Entry.
President Ramaphosa saw the destruction during his visit to the province. Entire communities had been wiped out by the rainfall and flooding, with families left with nothing.
The death toll included a five-year-old child. Whole families had lost their homes, with some areas seeing complete destruction.
“In the Mopani District, it’s even worse … because there are 36 houses that have just been wiped away from the face of the earth. One five-year-old child has also passed away,” he said.
Climate Change Effects Intensifying
President Ramaphosa said residents had shown courage during the disaster. Neighbours had risked their lives to save others from the floodwaters before rescue teams arrived.
Some residents threw ropes to stranded neighbours, creating human chains to pull people to safety. These efforts saved lives that would otherwise have been lost.
“A number of lives that could have been lost here have been saved, and we are grateful to our people,” he said.
The President said this level of rainfall-related destruction is something South Africa hasn’t seen before. The disaster signals a shift in the severity of climate-related events hitting the country.
“Climate change is truly with us, and those who don’t believe that it is with us, better believe it now, because wiping out 36 houses when there’s rain has never really been something that we’ve experienced,” he said.
