At least 56 dead in floods in southern Brazil

The toll rose on Saturday in Brazil where floods have devastated the state of Rio Grande do Sul for several days, leaving at least 56 dead and 67 missing in this region in the south of the country, whose regional capital, Porto Alegre, is heavily affected.

This new report was communicated by the Brazilian civil defense on Saturday.

Roads have been cut by the floods and communications are disrupted in this state where it is expected to rain at least until Sunday. The authorities gave orders to evacuate certain neighborhoods in the metropolis of Porto Alegre.

The task of rescuers is formidable, with entire towns practically cut off from the world, made inaccessible by floods.

Housing areas drowned as far as the eye can see, roads destroyed or bridges swept away by the current, not to mention the failure of dams which risk further aggravating the situation: the human and material damage is considerable and especially concentrated in the central region of this State bordering Argentina and Uruguay.

This is my home and I feel a lot of pain, it hurts my heartsaid to theAFP Maria Luiza, 51, who lives in Sao Sebastiao do Caiin one of the areas most affected by flooding.

In Porto Alegre, the regional capital with some 1.5 million inhabitants, the disaster will be unprecedentedwarned Governor Eduardo Leite.

The worst climate disaster in the region’s history

On Friday, streets in the historic center of the city were in turn invaded by water due to the exceptional flood of the Guaiba, an emblematic river of the Brazilian South, noted theAFP.

The authorities estimate that the level of Guaiba could reach 5 meters in the coming hours. The historical record, dating from 1941, is 4.71 m.

According to the governor, the state of Rio Grande do Sul lives it worst climate disaster in its history.

At least four dams are in an emergency situation, with a risk of rupturealerted local authorities.

HAS Capela de Santananorth of Porto Alegre, Raul Metzel says his neighbors had to abandon their livestock. They don’t know if the water will continue to rise or what will happen to the animals. They could drown soon.

In the midst of the disaster, some scenes are comforting, such as the rescue of four pregnant women in the town ofAgudotransported by helicopter to a hospital.

More than 250 localities have been hit for several days by devastating storms and thunderstorms.

The latest count from the authorities lists some 351,000 victims. In total, 23,600 people had to leave their homes.

The Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited the region on Thursday, promising that it would not fail to means human or material in the face of this tragedy.

The federal government has pledged to send helicopters and boats, as well as more than 600 military personnel, to reinforce relief operations and food distribution.

The weather forecasts are worrying, rains of extreme severity expected to persist until Sunday, according to Civil Defense, which also warned of the risk of overflowing another river, the Uruguay River.

Hundreds of thousands of people were left without electricity. Water supply is also compromised in many localities, as is access to the internet or mobile phone signal.

North of Rio Grande do Sulthe neighboring state of Santa Catarina is now also hit by the rains.

THE Rio Grande do Sul has already been hit several times by deadly bad weather, notably in September, when 31 people died after the passage of a devastating cyclone.

According to experts, these extreme weather phenomena have increased in frequency and intensity with global warming.

Brazil experienced a historic drought last year in the north of the country and the number of wildfires reached a record from January to April, with more than 17,000 fire outbreaks recorded across the country, including more than half in the Amazon.

[…]. These two tragedies bear the fingerprints of the climate crisis. The government must take urgent measures to prevent the situation from getting even worse”,”text”:”Rain in the south, fire in the north[…]. These two tragedies bear the fingerprints of the climate crisis. The government must take urgent measures to prevent the situation from getting even worse”}}”>Rain in the south, fire in the north […]. These two tragedies bear the fingerprints of the climate crisis. The government must take urgent action to prevent the situation from getting even worsealerted the Climate Observatory, a Brazilian collective ofNGOs, in a press release.