According to reports from the Argentina Navy outpost in Puerto Iguazu, pouring rains and floods have forced the closure of the Iguazu Park.

The UNESCO park is home to the world’s most famous waterfalls in the heartland of South America and is shared by Argentina and Brazil as it is situated across the two country’s and their border.

Flooding has forced the evacuation of at least 500 families from their homes on the Paraguayan soil which is part of the mighty Parana river basin that runs from the Pantanal (marshy lands) well inside Brazil to the River Plate.

In Iguazu Park, the catwalks and sight posts, from where tens of thousands of visitors every year contemplate and listen to the fantastic waterfalls have been covered by water. Vessels that take the tourists sightseeing along the huge lake where thousands of tons of water pour every second have also been cancelled.