Death toll from floods in Brazil hits 126 as rain returns
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Army soldiers checking their damaged vehicle in a flooded street in Eldorado do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul state, on May 9.
PHOTO: AFP
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CANOAS, Brazil – Rain returned to Rio Grande do Sul on May 10 as the death toll from historic floods in Brazil’s southernmost state
Storms and floods battering the state, home to some 10.9 million people, have also displaced almost 340,000 while another 141 people are still unaccounted for, the civil defence said.
Heavy rain caused several rivers and lakes in the region to hit their highest levels ever, while floods blocked streets and disrupted logistics, triggering a shortage of essential goods in certain areas.
Almost two million people have been affected so far, the civil defence said in its latest update on the evening of May 10.
Weather forecaster MetSul earlier said most Rio Grande do Sul cities should experience rain on May 10, adding that there is a high risk of storms.
They should persist until May 13, it added in a statement.
The state is at a geographical meeting point between tropical and polar atmospheres, which has created a weather pattern with periods of intense rain and others of drought.
Local scientists believe the pattern has been intensifying because of climate change.
In Canoas, one of most affected cities near state capital Porto Alegre, more than 6,000 people were sheltering in a college gymnasium.
Ms Aparecida de Fatima Fagundes said she had been struggling to sleep there as she could not stop thinking about “the worst day” of her life.
“I keep remembering people saying ‘help, help’,” she said. “It was horrible.”
The state government said more than 385,000 people had no water services, while some 20 cities had no telecommunications services.
On May 9, the federal government announced a package of aid measures to help Rio Grande do Sul, which included bringing forward payment of social benefits and providing cheaper credit to farmers and companies.
State governor Eduardo Leite had said earlier in the week that initial calculations indicate Rio Grande do Sul would need at least 19 billion reals (S$5 billion) to rebuild from the damage, which has extended into farm areas around the capital. REUTERS
Flood evacuee Ana Caroline Gil Rodrigues (right) resting with her baby at a school in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on May 10, 2024.
PHOTO: REUTERS
