Devastating Floods In Southern Brazil Claim 100 Lives, Many Missing Amid Widespread Destruction

The death toll from devastating floods that have ravaged southern Brazil for days reached 100 on Wednesday, as announced by authorities, with the search continuing for dozens of people still missing. Nearly 400 municipalities have been affected by the worst natural calamity ever to hit the state of Rio Grande do Sul, with hundreds of people injured and 160,000 forced from their homes, as reported by Hindustan Times citing AFP.

The means to call for help with telephone and internet services are down in many places, leaving many with no access to drinking water or electricity. On Tuesday, state governor Eduardo Leite had warned that the human toll was likely to rise as "the emergency is continuing to develop" in the state capital of Porto Alegre and other cities and towns.

Photo Credit: PTI

Devastating Floods In Southern Brazil

Some 15,000 soldiers, firefighters, police, and volunteers were deployed across the state, with many engaged in rescue operations by boats and even jet skis to transport aid. Authorities urged people not to return to affected areas due to possible landslides and health hazards.

Many people are loath to leave their homes for the safety of shelters amid reports of abandoned properties being looted. "Contaminated water can transmit diseases," civil defence spokeswoman Sabrina Ribas warned on Wednesday, as reported by AFP. The National Confederation of Municipalities reported that nearly 100,000 homes had been damaged or destroyed by unprecedented rains and floods in the state, with losses estimated at about 4.6 billion reais (more than $900 million.)

Porto Alegre, home to about 1.4 million people, saw its larger metropolitan area impacted severely. The state's Guaiba River, which runs through Porto Alegre, reached historic levels, and five dams are at risk of rupturing. There were queues at public taps and wells as officials warned that the most urgent need of people stranded by impassable roads, collapsed bridges, and flooded homes was drinking water, as reported by Hindustan Times.

Only two of Porto Alegre's six water treatment plants were functioning, the mayor's office said Tuesday, and hospitals and shelters were being supplied by tankers. Helicopters were delivering water and food to communities most in need, while work continued on restoring road access. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has pledged that there would be "no lack of resources to meet the needs of Rio Grande do Sul."

In Gasometro, a part of Porto Alegre popular with tourists, the water continued to rise Wednesday, complicating rescue efforts. Operations at the port of Porto Alegre have been suspended, and its international airport indefinitely closed. The Air Force announced that the military base outside town would receive commercial flights transporting aid and passengers.

In a rare dry spot in Porto Alegre's historic centre, dozens of people gathered around a generator rented by a pharmacy to charge their cell phones. "This is a parallel universe," said one of them, university professor Daniela da Silva, 30. The Inmet Meteorological Institute has warned of more storms with heavy rains and winds in the south of the state and downpours over the weekend in the Porto Alegre region, as per media reports.

The World Meteorological Organization, in a report Wednesday, stated that Latin American and the Caribbean had recorded its warmest year on record in 2023 -- "a year of record climatic hazards" for the region due to climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon.

Many towns and cities in Brazil were hit by "exceptional rainfall" that caused displacement and massive upheavals, according to the weather agency MetSul. Due to climate change, extreme or rare events "are becoming more frequent and more extreme," said Jose Marengo, research coordinator at Brazil's National Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring (Cemaden) told AFP. According to weather agency MetSul, the flooding has "changed the map of the metropolitan region" of Porto Alegre.