South Africa Closes Kruger Park as Deadly Floods Kill Dozens

Deadly floods prompted South Africa’s iconic Kruger National Park to shut to further visitors, after extreme rainfall killed dozens in the northeast of the country and neighboring Mozambique.

The South African Weather Service on Thursday issued its highest weather warning level for the first time in almost four years, following days of heavy rains that have caused roads to collapse. Rivers in Mozambique burst their banks, stranding communities and closing the main north-south highway in the gas-rich nation.

Even before the current low pressure system hit over the weekend, parts of southern Mozambique had received record rainfall during the second week of January, according to preliminary data from the Climate Hazards Center of University of California, Santa Barbara. The European Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre forecast that parts of northeastern South Africa will get more than 500 millimeters (20 inches) over three days.

“Due to the combination of very high amounts of rainfall already accumulated over the past several days, and the expectation of further heavy rainfall, the risk of widespread flooding remains critically high,” the South African Weather Service said. “These additional rainfall amounts are expected to fall over already saturated catchments, which will exacerbate existing widespread flooding.”

The South African Air Force said in a statement it had deployed two helicopters to airlift people from stranded communities in the Limpopo province, including 18 people who had to be evacuated from a private lodge near the Kruger Park. Authorities said at least 19 people had died in flooding across two provinces since December. Mozambique’s government reported more than three dozen deaths as of Jan. 14.

The UK government issued a warning to its citizens traveling in the area, advising them to follow guidance from local authorities and reconsider travel arrangements if necessary.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the Limpopo province on Thursday to assess the extent of damage, the Presidency said on X.

The last time the South African Weather Service issued a red level 10 warning was in May 2022, when more than 400 people died in floods in KwaZulu-Natal province.