More than 100 people have been killed after torrential rain caused flooding across South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, with authorities issuing warnings that more severe weather is expected across several countries in southern Africa.
In central and southern Mozambique, more than 200,000 people have been affected, thousands of homes damaged and tens of thousands of people were facing evacuation, the World Food Programme said.
About 173,000 acres of crops, including staples such as rice and corn, have been left waterlogged.
At least 103 people have died there, following an unusually severe rainy season since late last year, the country’s Institute for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction said on Friday.
People have perished by drowning in rising waters or in collapsing infrastructure, while others have died from catching cholera or being electrocuted by lightning strikes, the institute said.
Zimbabwean officials have said at least 70 people have died there, with more than 1,000 homes destroyed in heavy rains this year and infrastructure, including schools, roads and bridges, has collapsed.
In two northern provinces of South Africa, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, at least 19 deaths have been reported following heavy rain that began last month and has caused severe flooding.
On a visit to Limpopo on Thursday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said more than 15 inches (38cm) of rain had fallen in less than a week.
He said he had been to an area where 36 houses “have just been wiped away from the face of the Earth. Everything is gone… the roofs, the walls, the fences, everything”.
Around 600 tourists and staff members have been evacuated by helicopter from camps to high-lying areas in the famous Kruger National Park, according to spokesperson Reynold Thakhuli.
He could not immediately say how many people there were in the park, while the parks agency said precautions were being taken and no deaths or injuries had been reported at Kruger.
The park is closed to visitors as parts of it are inaccessible because of washed-out roads and bridges, South Africa’s national parks agency said.
The South African Weather Service issued a red-level 10 alert for parts of the country for Friday, warning of more heavy rain and flooding that poses a threat to lives and could cause widespread infrastructure damage.
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The South African army sent helicopters to rescue other people trapped on the roofs of their houses or in trees in the northern parts of the country, including border post and police officers stranded at a flooded checkpoint on the South Africa-Zimbabwe border.
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Flooding has also hit the island nation of Madagascar off the coast of Africa, as well as Malawi and Zambia. Authorities in Madagascar said 11 people had died in floods since late November.
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Flooding was reported or expected in at least seven southern African nations, the US Famine Early Warning System said.
