Disaster Management module
Earth Engine live feedLast refreshed: Aug 2026
Flood monitoring
Radar-derived flood extent for historical events, plus live flood-watch status per major catchment based on rainfall accumulation and river-level trends.
Active flood watches
2
Catchments under watch now
Catchments monitored
4
Historical events mapped
4
Largest mapped extent
934 km²
Catchment risk and historical flood extent
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- Low risk
- Moderate
- High
- Severe
- Historical flood extent
Active flood watch by catchment
Orange–Senqu
No watchLow
Northern Cape · Free State
- 7-day rainfall
- 6 mm (-38% vs normal)
- River level
- 34% of bankfull
Dry-season baseflow; no flood signal in radar backscatter.
Vaal
No watchModerate
Gauteng · Free State · North West
- 7-day rainfall
- 21 mm (+8% vs normal)
- River level
- 58% of bankfull
Upper-catchment rainfall near normal; releases being managed.
Limpopo
Watch activeHigh
Limpopo
- 7-day rainfall
- 74 mm (+46% vs normal)
- River level
- 81% of bankfull
Sustained upstream rainfall with river levels rising for 5 days.
Umgeni
Watch activeSevere
KwaZulu-Natal
- 7-day rainfall
- 128 mm (+92% vs normal)
- River level
- 94% of bankfull
Coastal low delivering intense rainfall over saturated soils.
Historical flood events
| Event | Catchment | Date | Affected area | Settlements | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limpopo basin inundation Limpopo | Limpopo | Feb 2023 | 934 km² | 57 | High |
| Durban / Umgeni floods KwaZulu-Natal | Umgeni | Apr 2022 | 612 km² | 84 | Severe |
| Vaal River high-flow event Free State | Vaal | Feb 2021 | 388 km² | 23 | Moderate |
| Orange River flood Northern Cape | Orange–Senqu | Jan 2011 | 741 km² | 31 | High |