As of: 06/14/2022 3:02 p.m
Roads and bridges washed away, no more electricity: In Yellowstone National Park, severe flooding has caused devastation. Visitors had to be evacuated, some towns are no longer accessible.
Floods caused by constant rain and snowmelt have caused massive devastation in Yellowstone National Park in the USA. Roads and bridges were washed away. In addition, the power supply was interrupted, said the park administration. Damage was worst in the northern portion of the park and in southern Montana communities adjacent to Yellowstone Park.
Visitors evacuated, access closed
Several park visitors had to be evacuated from the particularly hard-hit areas of the wilderness recreation area. There have been no reports of injuries so far. All entrances to the national park were closed due to the emergency, it said.
A washed out bridge in Yellowstone National Park (Montana, USA).
Image: AP
Photos from the National Park Service, the federal agency responsible for managing protected areas, showed a landslide, a completely submerged bridge over a creek and roads eroded by the torrent of the Gardner and Lamar tributaries. The flooding cut off access to a Montana township of 900 people near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Gardner Rivers.
The highway between Gardiner and Mammoth in Montana (USA) is also undermined.
Image: AP
Drinking water no longer safe
Authorities in the surrounding district said drinking water was no longer safe in many areas due to flooding. Evacuations and rescue operations continued.
Roads in the northern part of Yellowstone National Park may be impassable for an extended period of time, said Cam Sholly, the park’s superintendent. When the national park will reopen will only be known when the flooding has receded and the damage throughout the park can be assessed. However, the entrances to Yellowstone are closed until at least Wednesday.
Massive flooding and problems with the water supply and sewage systems also threatened other areas of the wilderness area. A meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Billings, Montana, said no more rain was expected for the time being. Cooler temperatures should weaken snowmelt in the coming days. “These are floods like we’ve never seen in our lives,” he said.
Yellowstone National Park closed
Reinhard Baumgarten, SWR, currently ARD Washington, June 14, 2022 4:10 p.m
