JOHANNESBURG: South Africa on Sunday declared a national disaster after widespread flooding that destroyed homes and killed dozens, while thousands sought shelter in neighboring Mozambique.
Heavy rains and storms have battered the two southern African countries for weeks, claiming more than 30 lives in South Africa’s northeastern Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces.
Rivers burst their banks and swallowed entire neighborhoods in several regions of Mozambique, displacing thousands including a woman who was forced to give birth on a roof as she sheltered from flood waters.
“I classify the disaster as a national disaster,” the head of South Africa’s National Disaster Management Center Elias Sithole said in a statement Sunday.
Authorities continued to search for survivors and recover bodies at the weekend, but flooding had started receding in some areas, including the famed Kruger National Park, which had been forced to close and evacuate guests Thursday.
