South Africa officially declared a state of national disaster on Sunday following the deadly and destructive floods that have been affecting the country since December, as well as neighboring Mozambique.
The heavy rains and storms that have been battering these two southern African countries for several weeks have claimed 30 lives in the South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga (northeast), and at least eight in Mozambique.
“I hereby classify the disaster as a national disaster,” Elias Sithole, Deputy Director General- Head of the National Disaster Management Centre, said in a statement released on Sunday.
Authorities are still searching for survivors and attempting to recover bodies, as floodwaters have begun to recede in some regions, including the area of the renowned Kruger National Park, which has been forced to close since Thursday and where visits may resume “as early as tomorrow,” according to a statement by the national parks service on social media.
In several regions of Mozambique, rivers have overflowed, submerging entire neighborhoods and forcing thousands of people to flee.
On Sunday, South Africa sent rescue teams to southern Mozambique following the incident in Chokwe, 200 kilometers north of Maputo, where a car transporting five members of a South African delegation was carried away by floodwaters.
