South Africa declares national disaster as floods ravage region

South Africa on Sunday declared a national disaster after widespread flooding that destroyed homes and left dozens dead, 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.

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.

In Mozambique, rescue efforts were slow to reach survivors who sheltered on roofs and in trees.

At least eight people had died in the country since December 21, according to official data, but numbers were expected to rise as more people were declared missing.

South Africa also dispatched rescue teams to southern Mozambique Sunday after a car carrying five members of a South African mayoral delegation was swept away by floodwaters in Chokwe, 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of Maputo.

According to the latest figures released by the Mozambican government on Friday, more than 173,000 people had been affected by the floods across the country