Rainfall in kruger

[Lisbeth]

Even tar roads break up

[Richprins]

From the SanParks FB page 14:15 Saturday 11 Jan 2025
Social Media Update: KNP Heavy Rains Update 4/ 11/1/ 2025
South African National Parks(SANParks) would like to make tourists aware that some gravel roads in the southern part of the Kruger National Park remain temporarily closed due to the recent heavy rains. Guests are further advised not to open or travel on any roads which have been closed and not to cross any low-water bridges as the dangers of being washed away remain high.
Biyamiti and Balule bush camps are currently not accessible. The Skukuza Airport is only accessible via Shalati Lodge Bridge. No threat or danger to lives has been experienced in the park with Park Management working hard to keep all guests in the affected areas safe.
Technical Services with the assistance of Ranger Services have been assessing access and are working to find possible solutions. The floods remain fluid, with more heavy rains anticipated in the coming week. The teams will continue with assessments of all affected camps and roads, and updates will be communicated through social media as well as in person to the affected guests.
All access gates into Kruger National Park are open, and guests can enter and exit the South of the park from the open gates.
SANParks Management would like to urge guests NOT to take chances and leave any camp without checking with camp management and reception about the status of the roads they plan to travel on. The rain forecast for today remains high, caution should be exercised at all times on the roads. SANParks will continue posting updates on the SANParks - Kruger National Park Facebook group as and when information changes.

[Lisbeth]

Biyamiti and Balule bush camps are currently not accessible.

Not bad to be blocked there for a few days

[Dzombo]

Biyamiti and Balule bush camps are currently not accessible.

Not bad to be blocked there for a few days

Trapped in camp with no options of a drive.
And no access to fresh supplies.
Don't think I would want to be in this situation

[Dzombo]

The damage to the H4-1 seems to have become an annual event

[Lisbeth]

The fresh supplies might be a problem, but I can do without meat and salad for quite some time

I am sure that there are lots of things to watch.

[Lisbeth]

GAME RESERVE FLOODS

Heavy rains close Kruger Park roads — visitors moved, rest camps affected


Flooding at Kruger National Park on Sunday, 12 January 2025. (Photo: Suzette Engelbrecht Cronje)

By Kristin Engel | 13 Jan 2025

Heavy rains driven by a tropical low-pressure system over Botswana last weekend caused significant disruptions and flooding in the Kruger National Park, leading to the closure of some camps and gravel roads south of the Olifants River.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
SANParks activated disaster management protocols and teams continue to monitor conditions in the wake of flooding in the Kruger National Park this weekend. This comes after several gravel roads, and some camps were closed. Some park guests were moved from their camps as a precautionary measure.


Flooding at Kruger National Park began on Sunday, 12 January 2024, leading to the closure of several roads and bridges. (Photo: Latest Sightings / Peter Pienaar)

SANParks said that the flooding was largely localised to the south of the Olifants River and that water flow forecasts suggested that the Sabie and Sand Rivers would be inundated with heavy flows for some time.

This followed disruptive rainfall with widespread showers over Limpopo and Mpumalanga during the weekend and on Monday, 13 January 2025 in Kruger Park after an advisory was sent out by the South African Weather Service (SAWS).

To date, there have been no reports of casualties or damage to personal property. However, SANParks strongly advised road users to be extra vigilant and cautious when crossing low-level bridges and not to leave their vehicles to clear debris.

Nadav Ossendryver, founder of Latest Sightings, an online platform for real-time wildlife sightings in national parks, said they began receiving reports of flooding on Saturday, 11 January, with heavy rains causing significant damage, including destroyed bridges and closed roads.

Ossendryver said their first report of flooding was from a Latest Sightings member and an alert was sent out to the Kruger community to submit any photos and videos of the destruction so that people could assess the damage, whether any roads were closed, and if any camps had been affected.


Flooding at Kruger National Park on Sunday, 12 January 2025. (Photo: Latest Sightings / Renata Kretzmann)

After this, Ossendryver said reports poured in. He said that “every little drainage line is now a river, according to one of the safari guides. A lot of the bridges have been destroyed.”

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Ossendryver told Daily Maverick that they saw flooding in this area every year, usually in January and February, but not always as bad as it was over the past weekend.

“The whole of last year was quite dry, the bush was quite clear, and so sightings were good. Then in December [2024] it started raining, and the rain just continued,” he said.

Tropical low-pressure system

Limpopo and Mpumalanga are not particularly wet regions, but do receive most of their rainfall in summer, especially if there is a tropical weather system like a continental tropical low-pressure system – which was what occurred this weekend.

SAWS meteorologist and weather forecaster Lehlohonolo Thobela told Daily Maverick that a tropical low-pressure system was situated over the northern parts of Botswana, feeding the northern provinces with enough water vapour for cloud development and rainfall.

“Limpopo and Mpumalanga usually receive most of their rainfall in summer. Considering that the seasonal forecast was suggesting a weak La Nina season, above-normal rainfall was expected over the central and eastern parts of the country.”

In addition, Thobela said there was also a high-pressure system ridging in from the east, allowing a conducive environment for rainfall production.


Flooding at Kruger National Park on Sunday, 12 January 2025. (Photo: Suzette Engelbrecht Cronje)

A single period of prolonged rainfall cannot be directly attributed to climate change, but Thobela said that there was some form of climate change and climate variability influence in how frequently South Africa is getting extreme weather conditions over the central and eastern regions of the country.

Isaac Phahla, Kruger National Park communications and marketing manager, said that the rains appeared normal for this time of the year, but other areas had received more than the 10-year average rainfall.

Areas affected, damage

According to Phahla, the area most affected by the recent flooding was south of the Olifants River. Gravel roads and low-lying bridges were currently being monitored by the SANParks technical team and others were closed periodically to avoid any disasters.

In a statement on Monday, 13 January, SANParks advised that some main roads between Skukuza and Lower Sabie were damaged, but Kruger Park roads management teams moved promptly to ensure the safety of visitors.

SANParks said the rain had also been heavy in the north with the Luvuvhu River at its highest level this season.

In terms of damage, Phahla said, “The Lower Sabie/Skukuza road is being temporarily repaired after it partly collapsed to enable visitors to move between the two rest camps; Talamati and Biyamiti bush camps are closed as a precautionary measure.”

When asked about evacuations and safety incidents involving visitors due to the flooding, Phahla said that guests from the Biyamiti bush camp had been moved as a safety measure.

He said proper assessments would be done once the water had subsided. However, all gates were open.


Flooding at Kruger National Park on Sunday, 12 January 2025. (Photo: Latest Sightings / Renata Kretzmann)

By Sunday, Ossendryver said that the weather had started to taper off and that the river levels were dropping slightly, but that there were still reports of closed roads, bridges and camps.

“A few years ago, there was a bridge completely destroyed on the park’s busiest road, the H4-1, and that still hasn’t been fixed… Now on that same road, in a different spot, a new bridge has been destroyed – the Alpha Bridge,” Ossendryver said.

He said Kruger Park was good at creating detours when these incidents occurred because the road that was heavily impacted was one of the busiest roads between the busiest camps, so it needed to be available.

Phahla told Daily Maverick that “currently, SANParks disaster management is coping, but will call for assistance when the need arises.”

Wildlife move to higher ground

Fortunately, there have been no reports of wildlife being affected in the Kruger flooding, and the animals could be seen moving to higher ground on the Latest Sightings reports.

Ossendryver said that “they have a way of knowing when these things happen and they go to higher ground. The tortoises come out. They all move away from the rivers and they survive. I

“I’m sure there’ll be some animals which don’t and maybe get caught up, but I don’t think it’s a lot. The hippos and the animals that rely on water love it when there’s flooding. Hippos become super aggressive in the drought season because they’re always fighting over water. So now they are super happy,” Ossendryver said.

SANParks said the disaster management team would update information periodically to enable visitors and tourists to plan their trips accordingly and called for those with internet access to look out for the latest updates on road conditions in the south of the park.

Tourists with confirmed camp bookings were advised by SANParks to check their accessibility with the various camps or contact the emergency call centre on 013 735-4325. DM

[Richprins]

Lis!

[harrys]

These people at the weather berau are clueless, they predict rain at 90% and no rain will fall and when they predict no rain everything is flooded they should start doing maintenance on their equipment so it can work correctly, a report a while ago suggested that because of poor maintenace the weather berau can't do their work propperly but then again whats new in our s#$@ hole country

[Richprins]

Agreed, Harry!