What to know about the devastating floods in southern Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Torrential rains and severe flooding across parts of southern Africa have killed more than 100 people in three countries, destroyed thousands of homes and caused tens of millions of dollars’ worth of damage in one of Africa’s premier wildlife parks.

Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe have experienced unusually heavy rains since late last year and the resulting floods have been the region's worst in years. Authorities expect the death toll to rise with rescue operations continuing.

Here's what to know about the disaster:

Towns under water

More than 30 people have died in the flooding in South Africa and at least 70 in heavy rains in Zimbabwe, its northern neighbor. In Mozambique, 13 deaths have been directly attributed to flooding over the past two weeks, though the actual toll is believed to be higher.

Central and southern parts of Mozambique have been hard hit, with authorities ordering people to evacuate some towns in the southern Gaza province, where the governor says more than 300,000 people have been displaced. More than half a million people across Mozambique have been impacted by the flooding, according to the government.

The Gaza provincial capital of Xai-Xai and the nearby agricultural town of Chokwe have been submerged by the floods, with only the tips of the roofs of buildings visible in some areas. The tourist town of Marracuene, north of the capital, Maputo, is surrounded by water and effectively cut off.

Renowned Kruger Park damaged

In South Africa, the Kruger National Park, one of Africa's top wildlife parks, has sustained damage amounting to tens of millions of dollars and parts of it have been totally cut off by the flooding, Environment Minister Willie Aucamp said Thursday. He said roads and bridges were washed away, staff and tourist accommodation had been destroyed, and the damage was so severe in the huge park that it will likely take years to fully recover.

A special fund has been set up to rebuild the park, which covers nearly 20,000 square kilometers (7,722 square miles) — nearly the same size as Israel — and often attracts more than 1 million visitors a year. No deaths were reported in the park, though hundreds of tourists and staff were evacuated from flood-stricken areas, some by helicopter.

Kruger officials said the animals generally move to higher areas in times of flooding, but the extent of the impact on the wildlife in the park, which includes critically endangered black rhinos, is not yet clear.

Cross-border rescue operations

The South African Air Force has deployed helicopters to rescue people stranded in trees and on the tops of buildings in the northern provinces of Mpumalanga and Limpopo. It said it was also conducting cross-border operations to assist in neighboring Mozambique and had rescued nearly 500 stranded people there. The military shared images of some of its rescue operations, which showed people huddled on rooftops surrounded by some of their possessions.

Thousands of homes and other buildings have been destroyed, and South Africa has declared a national disaster.

South African authorities are also concerned about the stability of a dam in the northeast that is under pressure from the flooding and have sent safety engineers to work on it and have ordered evacuations in case it breaches.

Fears over hunger and disease

Humanitarian agencies say there is now increased hunger and disease, with the extreme weather wiping out crops that millions of small-scale farmers rely on to feed themselves, while the water-borne cholera disease is often a threat following major flooding.

The United Nations Children's Fund said children are especially vulnerable among the more than half a million people affected in Mozambique, with access to clean water, food and healthcare uncertain for those people.

Associated Press writer Charles Mangwiro in Maputo, Mozambique, contributed to this story.

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa