The death toll of devastating floods that have ravaged southern Brazil for days reached 100 on Wednesday, authorities said, as the search continued for dozens of people still missing.
Nearly 400 municipalities have been affected worst natural calamity never hit the state of Rio Grande do Sul, with hundreds injured and 160,000 driven from their homes.
Many do not have access to clean water or electricity, or even the means to call for help with telephone and internet services down in many places.
On Tuesday, the state's governor, Eduardo Leite, warned that the number of people would likely rise as “the emergency continues to unfold” in the state capital of Porto Alegre and other cities and towns. Authorities urged people not to return to affected areas due to possible landslides and health hazards.
Andre Penner / AP
“Contaminated water can transmit diseases,” warned civil protection spokeswoman Sabrina Ribas on Wednesday.
About 15,000 soldiers, firefighters, police and volunteers were working across the state, many in boats and even jet skis, to rescue those trapped and transport aid.
Many people do not want to leave their homes for the safety of shelters amid reports of looting of abandoned properties.
The National Confederation of Municipalities said nearly 100,000 homes had been damaged or destroyed by unprecedented rain and flooding in the state, with losses estimated at more than $900 million.
Porto Alegre is home to about 1.4 million people and the larger metropolitan area has more than double that number.
The state's Guaiba River, which runs through Porto Alegre, reached historic levels and five dams are at risk of breaking.
Carlos Macedo / AP
There were queues at public taps and wells as officials warned that the most urgent need for people stranded by impassable roads, collapsed bridges and flooded homes was clean water.
Only two of Porto Alegre's six sewage treatment plants were operating, the mayor's office said Tuesday, and hospitals and shelters were being supplied by tanker trucks.
Helicopters were delivering water and food to communities most in need, while work continued to restore access to the road.
The Brazilian navy was due to send its “Atlantic” ship, the largest in Latin America, to Rio Grande do Sul on Wednesday with two mobile water treatment stations.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has promised that “there will be no lack of resources to meet the needs of Rio Grande do Sul.”
In Gasometro, a part of Porto Alegre popular with tourists, water continued to rise on Wednesday, complicating rescue efforts.
Andre Penner / AP
“You can only cross on foot or by boat. There is no other way,” Luan Pas, a 30-year-old resident, told AFP by a street turned into a stagnant and smelly river.
Operations at the port of Porto Alegre have been suspended and its international airport closed indefinitely.
The Air Force said the military base outside the city will receive commercial flights carrying aid and passengers.
In a rare dry spot in the historic center of Porto Alegre, dozens of people gathered around a generator rented by a pharmacy to charge their cellphones.
“This is a parallel universe,” said one of them, university professor Daniela da Silva, 30.
The meteorological institute Inmet has warned of more storms with heavy rain and winds in the south of the state and showers during the weekend in the Porto Alegre region.
Carlos Macedo / AP
The World Meteorological Organization in a report on Wednesday said Latin America and the Caribbean had recorded theirs warmest year on record by 2023 — “a year of record climate hazards” for the region due to climate change and El Nino weather phenomenon
Many towns and cities in Brazil, he said, were hit by “exceptional rains” that led to mass displacement and upheaval.
Due to climate changeextreme or rare events “are becoming more frequent and more extreme,” Jose Marengo, research coordinator at Brazil's National Center for Monitoring Natural Disasters (Cemaden), told AFP.
According to the weather agency MetSul, the flood has “changed the map of the metropolitan region” of Porto Alegre.
