Floods force evacuations from South Africa's Kruger National Park and leave 19 dead in other regions

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JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Flooding caused by weeks of torrential rains in northern South Africa forced the famed Kruger National Park to suspend visits and evacuate some guests and staff members by helicopter on Thursday.

At least 19 people have died in other parts of the region since the rains began last month. According to the National Disaster Management Center, the deaths were reported in the provinces of Mpumalanga and neighboring Limpopo, where Kruger is located.

President Cyril Ramaphosa was due to visit flood-stricken areas on Thursday, his office said in a statement.

The South African Weather Service issued a red-level 10 alert, the highest warning level, for the next 24 to 48 hours in parts of the northern region. It said it was expecting further heavy downpours, leading to flooding that would endanger lives, displace communities and cause widespread damage to infrastructure.

Between 100 to 200 millimeters (around 4 to 8 inches) of rain is expected to fall over the course of the next two days, the weather service said.

This comes as the Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment warned that the area was saturated because the Crocodile, Sabie, Letaba, Sand, Luvuvhu and Limpopo rivers were overflowing due to ongoing severe rainfall in the two provinces.

The South African national parks agency said it took a precautionary decision not to allow day visitors into Kruger Park until conditions improve. It evacuated staff members and guests by helicopter from one of its main camps after it flooded.

The parks agency also announced the closure of several of Kruger’s nine entrances due to flooding and dangerous conditions.

Reynold Thakhuli, the Kruger National Park spokesperson, said that animals in the park were adaptable and could move to higher ground, but precautionary measures were needed to protect guests. Some guests at low-lying camps had already been evacuated to chalets earlier in the week.

"We had to proactively start evacuating certain camps, particularly bush camps and rustic camps," Thakhuli told The Associated Press. “At this moment there’s no predictions in terms of when will the rain stop, so we are monitoring on a daily basis.”

According to the South African National Defence Force, it has been using helicopters and other aircraft to assist with evacuating stranded people, including trapped police in Limpopo, since Wednesday. Among them was a local chief who was rescued from his home’s roof.

On Thursday, the army said that air crews were still assisting those stuck in trees and that those in need of medical attention were being taken to Maphutha Hospital near Phalaborwa.

The Kruger National Park covers some 20,000 square kilometers (7,722 square miles) and borders the neighboring countries of Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The park is nearly twice the size of small countries like Jamaica and Qatar and attracts around 1 to 2 million visitors a year.

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