About 100 elephants escape flash floods at sanctuary in Thailand [Video]

Flash floods swept through a popular elephant sanctuary in northern Thailand on Thursday, forcing the evacuation of about 100 elephants and trapping dozens of tourists, amid urgent pleas for help.Dramatic video and images from the Elephant Nature Park near the city of Chiang Mai showed dozens of elephants wading through belly-deep water to find safety on higher ground.”It was the biggest evacuation we have ever done to save their lives, the water rose rapidly,” Saengduean “Lek” Chailert, founder of Elephant Nature Park, told CNN, calling the floods the most severe the park has ever experienced.Video showed park staff who work with elephants, known as mahouts, shouting, “Go go, keep going” as they urged the huge pachyderms out of their pens and through the high floodwaters.While many of the animals found shelter on a nearby mountain overnight Thursday, come morning, Saengduean said the danger was far from over.”There are some animals …