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'Hundreds were saved': Heavy rains cause record death toll in southern
Brazil
(HTM) Source
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More than 300mm of rain fell in 24 hours in the Brazilian state of Rio
Grande do Sul on Monday leaving thousands homeless.
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The death toll from a cyclone that heavy rains in southern Brazil has
risen to 39, authorities said on Thursday.
Thousands of people were forced from their homes by the storms, which
started on Monday (4 September).
Hail and more than 300 millimetres (nearly 12 inches) of rain were
dumped on the state of Rio Grande do Sul in less than 24 hours,
triggering floods and landslides.
Governor Eduardo Leite said the death toll was the highest the state
had ever seen due to a climate event. A further nine people remain
missing.
## How bad are the floods in Brazil?
The **storm** , which was classified as an extratropical cyclone, hit
67 municipalities in all, affecting more than 52,000 people,
authorities said. It has left more than 2,300 people homeless and over
3,900 displaced.
In Muçum, a small town of 5,000 people, hundreds had to be rescued
from their rooftops as the Taquari River flooded more than 85 per cent
of the city, according to local news site GZH.
Video footage shows some homes almost completely submerged with only
their roofs above the water.
Hundreds of firefighters as well as military police and civil defence
personnel were dispatched as part of rescue operations, with
helicopters sent to reach areas cut off by flooding.
"There are still people missing. The death toll might climb higher,"
Mayor Mateus Trojan told Radio Gaucha.
"The town of Muçum as we knew it no longer exists."
The neighbouring state of Santa Catarina also recorded one death,
according to news site G1.
## Is Brazil at further risk of flooding?
With more rain forecast from Thursday to Saturday, authorities warn
more **flooding** is possible.
It is the latest in a string of deadly weather events to hit
**Brazil** , which experts say are likely being **made worse by
climate change**.
Unchecked urbanisation and irregular housing built on hillsides are
also making such disasters deadlier, officials say.
An estimated 9.5 million of **Brazil's** 203 million people live in
areas at **high risk of flooding** or landslides.
In June, another cyclone left 13 dead in Rio Grande do Sul and forced
thousands of people from their homes.
In February, 65 people died in landslides caused by record flooding in
the southeastern resort town of Sao Sebastiao, on the coast of Sao
Paulo state.
**Watch the video above to see the scale of the flooding in Rio
Grande do Sul, Brazil.**
Video editor **• Hannah Brown**
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