Over 600 people evacuated from South Africa's Kruger National Park

Severe flooding in the Kruger National Park in South Africa has prompted the evacuation of over 600 guests and staff from four rest camps as heavy rainfall continues to batter Limpopo and Mpumalanga, Report informs News24.

Rising river levels have cut off access to key areas, such as Skukuza, Lower Sabie and Crocodile Bridge, forcing SANParks to deploy helicopters for rescue operations on Thursday.

This as President Cyril Ramaphosa visited flood-stricken parts of Limpopo on Thursday to assess the extent of the damage and the response of government entities.

Overflows have been recorded in the Crocodile, Sabie, Letaba, Sand, Luvuvhu and Limpopo rivers.

This has affected the Shingwedzi, Mopani, Oliphants and Letaba rest camps, where guests and staff were stranded as roads became inaccessible, leaving the camps cut off.

Evacuation operations took place on Thursday morning, with helicopters used to relocate those affected.

According to information provided by SANParks, 631 people were evacuated from the four camps, including 67 children.

SANParks also announced that it has taken the precautionary decision not to allow day visitors into the park until conditions improve.

"SANParks is mindful of the current strain on operational and emergency responses on resources during this period of persistent rainfall," said SANParks spokesperson JP Louw.

"As such, the organization would prefer to focus available resources on real emergencies and ensuring the safety of guests, staff and surrounding communities, rather than avoidable incidents linked to non-essential travel within the park."

Louw said the decision to restrict day visitor access was a preventative safety measure and would be reviewed continuously as weather and road conditions change.

He added that the Phalaborwa Gate would also close for at least 24 hours while the situation is monitored by emergency response teams.

"This means at the moment there is no access into the northern parts of the park," he said.

The South African Weather Service has issued a warning for disruptive rains and flooding in the eastern parts of Limpopo and Mpumalanga due to a tropical weather system.

Forecasters predict another 100–200mm of accumulated rainfall over the next two days.