South African authorities closed Kruger National Park to day visitors on Thursday after several rivers inside the reserve overflowed, Reuters reports. Authorities warned that roads were submerged in multiple areas, prompting temporary closures across the park.

Areas surrounding the Letaba River were evacuated, though tourists already staying in lodges were permitted to remain, South African National Parks said. Reuters TV footage showed wide stretches of the park underwater, with treetops emerging above fast-flowing floodwaters and hippos navigating between them.

Reynold Thakhuli, a spokesperson for Kruger National Park, described conditions at the Phalaborwa gate near Kruger airport. “This water's moving very fast,” he told Reuters, noting that the gate had been closed for 24 hours while authorities monitor the situation. He added that park animals were not in immediate danger, as they typically move to higher ground during floods.

Heavy rainfall in southeastern Africa has become more frequent and intense in recent years, with stronger storms over the adjacent Indian Ocean, Reuters notes.

Some visitors were undisturbed by the flooding. South African tourist Gerhard Ackerman, seated on his lodge veranda overlooking submerged areas, told Reuters: “It's God's way of putting water back into the earth. We're enjoying it.”