Massive floods in Brazil’s southern Rio Grande do Sul state have resulted in the deaths of at least 60 people, with another 101 reported missing, according to Sunday’s update from local authorities.
Additionally, at least 155 people have been injured, while the torrential rains have forced more than 80,000 individuals from their homes, with approximately 15,000 seeking refuge in schools, gymnasiums, and other temporary shelters.
The floods have caused widespread devastation, including landslides, washed-out roads, and collapsed bridges throughout the state.
Operators have reported electricity and communications outages, and over 800,000 people are currently without a water supply, according to the civil defense agency, citing figures from water company Corsan.
In one instance on Saturday evening, residents in the town of Canoas formed a human chain in muddy water, standing up to their shoulders, to assist in pulling boats carrying people to safety, as captured in video footage shared by local UOL news network.
On Sunday morning at 8 a.m. local time, the Guaiba river surged to a historic level of 5.33 meters (17.5 feet), surpassing the heights recorded during the monumental 1941 deluge when the river peaked at 4.76 meters.
“I repeat and insist: the devastation to which we are being subjected is unprecedented,” State Gov. 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 Inácio Lula da Silva visited Rio Grande do Sul on Sunday, accompanied by Defense Minister José Múcio, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad, and Environment Minister Marina Silva, among others.
During Sunday mass at the Vatican, Pope Francis expressed his prayers 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 began on Monday and was expected to continue until Sunday.
In some areas, such as valleys, mountain slopes, and cities, more than 300 millimeters (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.
The heavy rains marked the fourth environmental disaster within a year, succeeding floods in July, September, and November 2023, which claimed a total of 75 lives.
Weather patterns across South America are influenced by the climate phenomenon El Niño, a periodic occurrence characterized by the warming of surface waters in the Equatorial Pacific region.
In Brazil, El Niño typically triggers droughts in the north and heavy rainfall in the south.
This year, the effects of El Niño have been notably pronounced, with a historic drought in the Amazon.
Scientists attribute the increasing frequency of extreme weather events to human-induced climate change.
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