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At least 75 killed, more than 100 others missing in Brazil floods
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Massive floods in Brazil's southern Rio Grande do Sul state have
killed at least 75 people over the last seven days, and another 103
were reported missing, local authorities have said.
Damage from the rains also forced more than 88,000 people from their
homes, state civil defence authorities said on Sunday. Approximately
16,000 took refuge in schools, gymnasiums and other temporary
shelters.
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The floods left a wake of devastation, including landslides, washed-
out roads and collapsed bridges across the state. Operators reported
electricity and communications cuts. More than 800,000 people are
without a water supply, according to the civil defence, which cited
figures from water company Corsan.
"I repeat and insist: the devastation to which we are being subjected
is unprecedented," state Governor Eduardo Leite said on Sunday
morning. He had previously said that the state will need a "kind of
'Marshall Plan' to be rebuilt".
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited Rio Grande do
Sul for a second time on Sunday, accompanied by Defence Minister Jose
Mucio, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad and Environment Minister
Marina Silva, among others. The leader and his team surveyed the
flooded streets of the state capital, Porto Alegre, from a helicopter.
"We need to stop running behind disasters. We need to see in advance
what calamities might happen and we need to work," President Lula told
journalists afterwards.
A man walks by a farm destroyed by the currents of the flash floods
caused by heavy rains in Jacarezinho, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil
[Diego Vara/Reuters]
The Guaiba River reached a record level of 5.33m (17.5 feet) on Sunday
morning, surpassing levels seen during a historic 1941 deluge, when
the river reached 4.76m (15.6 feet).
During Sunday mass at the Vatican, Pope Francis said he was praying
for the state's population. "May the Lord welcome the dead and comfort
their families and those who had to abandon their homes," he said.
The downpour started on Monday and was expected to last through
Sunday. In some areas, such as valleys, mountain slopes and cities,
more than 300mm (11.8 inches) of rain fell in less than a week,
according to Brazil's National Institute of Meteorology, known by the
Portuguese acronym INMET, on Thursday.
Rescue workers evacuate a flood victim in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do
Sul state, Brazil [Renan Mattos/Reuters]
The heavy rains were the fourth such environmental disaster in the
state in a year, following floods in July, September and November 2023
that killed 75 people.
Weather across South America is affected by the climate phenomenon El
Nino, a periodic, naturally occurring event that warms surface waters
in the Equatorial Pacific region. In Brazil, El Nino has historically
caused droughts in the north and intense rainfall in the south.
This year, the impacts of El Nino have been particularly dramatic,
with a historic drought in the Amazon. Scientists say extreme weather
is happening more frequently due to human-caused climate change.
"These tragedies will continue to happen, increasingly worse and more
frequent," said Suely Araujo, a public policy coordinator at the
Climate Observatory, a network of dozens of environmental and social
groups.
Brazil needs to adjust to the effects of climate change, she said in a
Friday statement, referring to a process known as adaptation.
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