Yellowstone National Park flooding: Park closed for first time in 34 years amid mudslides

Yellowstone National Park is a3,500 sq mile wilderness recreation area on top ofa volcanic hot spot. Although it is situated mostly in Wyoming, the park spreads into parts of Montana and Idaho too.

However, the entire parkwill remain closed to visitors, including all those with lodging and camping reservations, at least through Wednesday.

The park is closed for the very first time in 34 years.

This move was taken after heavyflooding and rockslides following a burst of heavy rainson Monday.

The officialswill be assessing damage to roads, bridges and other facilities.

All five park entrances were closed to inbound traffic for the first summer since the devastating wildfires in 1988.

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Officials have said that the "the National Park Service was working to reach visitors and staff remaining at various locations, especially in the hardest-hit northern flank of Yellowstone".

Cam Sholly, who is thepark superintendent, said in a statement that“Our first priority has been to evacuate the northern section of the park where we have multiple road and bridge failures, mudslides and other issues”.

Electric power was knocked out in many areas of the park.

Various roads and bridges are also damaged, with somegetting washed away and some fully covered in rocks and mud.

The floods and rockslides were so intense that the“gateway” community of Gardiner, Montana, which is the home to many Yellowstone staff members, has been fully destroyed, according to the National Park Service.

The park’s southernpart wason the verge of being flooded, according to the agency.

This was one of the wettest springsin many areas, and hencethe excessive rains and storms led to the flooding and slides.

The park service characterised the levels of rainfall and floodingas "unprecedented".

Not just this, but due to a sudden rise in summer temperatures during the past three days, snow started melting more rapidly and accumulatedin the park’s higher elevations.

The park has suffered from a lot of losses due to this, especially when it is the holiday season going on in the US, and tourists which accounts for the bulk of Yellowstone’s annual 4 million visitors.

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