Floods in Kenya hit the Masai Mara game reserve, trapping tourists climbing trees waiting to be rescued by helicopter.

Johannesburg — Tourists were evacuated by helicopter Wednesday from Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve as devastating floods in the East African nation hit the renowned wildlife sanctuary. More than 14 tourist camps were flooded and tents swept away when the Talek River burst its banks on Tuesday afternoon.

The Kenya Red Cross said in a message posted on social media that it had rescued 36 people by air and another 25 by land.

Tour operators said the Talek Gate, one of the entrances to the park, was left impassable by flooding and tourists were still waiting to be evacuated by helicopter.

Tour driver Felix Migoya told Kenya’s The Standard newspaper that both tourists and local staff were forced to climb trees on Tuesday night to escape the rising waters as their camps were submerged.

Forecasters have warned that heavy rain will continue to hit the region in the coming days. Scenes of utter devastation continue to unfold as homes, schools and entire towns are razed to the ground.

In Kenya, the death toll from weeks of flooding had reached 181 by Wednesday, according to government and Red Cross officials, and many more people remained missing. Conservationists fear that many animals have also been swept away by the floods.

The floods, caused by unusually heavy seasonal rains and aggravated by the El Niño meteorological phenomenonThey have affected a wide swath of East Africa, killing dozens more people in neighboring Tanzania and at least a handful in Ethiopia.

Roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure have been washed away and the government has been criticized for the slow pace of rescue efforts.

As the water continues to rise, rescue workers from the Red Cross and National Youth Service continued to fan out in search of bodies Wednesday as bulldozers picked up mud and debris.

At shelters for those displaced by the floods, many people were worried about loved ones still missing who were last seen swept away by the torrents.

President William Ruto, who called those affected by the floods “victims of climate change” has ordered the military to join search and rescue efforts. He visited flooded areas on Wednesday and promised that the government would rebuild houses, but warned residents that “the rain will continue and the likelihood of flooding and of people losing lives is “It’s real, so we need to take preventive measures.”

He urged anyone still in “fragile areas prone to landslides and flooding” to evacuate to higher ground.