The weather service issued the maximum warning for more rain in parts of the country while neighbouring Mozambique was on alert after flooding that inundated roads and homes.

Nine people lost their lives in the northeastern Limpopo province near Kruger since Christmas, a provincial government spokesperson told AFP.

Nearly 200 people had been rescued, he said.

The spokesman clarified Friday that the death toll was over several weeks and not overnight as he told AFP Thursday.

Images released by South Africa's National Defence Force showed a military helicopter airlifting stranded residents from trees.

In neighbouring Mpumalanga province, rescuers on Thursday recovered the body of a woman who drowned while trying to cross a river.

At least 19 people have died in Mpumalanga since the rains began in November, provincial spokesman Freddy Ngobe told AFP.

President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Limpopo on Thursday "to assess the extent of the damage and the response of government," his office said.

The Kruger National Park, a premier destination for wildlife tourism, had to evacuate six bush camps and some tented camps, the park's communications director, Rey Thakuli, told AFP.

Day?visitor access to the park was suspended Thursday.

In Mozambique, authorities began evacuating residents from low?lying areas and there were reports of deaths.

Mozambique's meteorology department said more heavy rains accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds were expected in the coming days, including in the capital Maputo.

While the southern hemisphere summer typically brings seasonal rains, this year's extreme downpours have unfolded against a backdrop of deepening climate stress.

"Our summer of extremes is but a small foretaste of the climate impacts that could follow if we do not act now," James Reeler, senior climate specialist at WWF South Africa, said in a statement.