All five entrances to America’s iconic Yellowstone National Park have been closed for this first time in 34 years after record floods triggered by heavy rain and glacier melt destroyed roads and bridges and inundated nearby communities. Al Jazeera quotes the National Park Service as saying that the rain and floods sweeping the park were unprecedented, with the Yellowstone River reaching 4.2 metres on Monday, higher than the previous record of 3.5 metres set in 1918. The park service said that it was working to evacuate visitors and staff remaining at various locations and that the northern sections of the park were likely to remain closed for quite some time.
