At least 100 dead and dozens still missing in devastating floods in Brazil

The death toll of devastating floods The number of injured people who have devastated southern Brazil for days rose to 100 on Wednesday, authorities said, as the search continued for dozens of people still missing.

Almost 400 communities are affected worst natural disaster The state of Rio Grande do Sul has never been hit by a disaster, leaving hundreds of people injured and 160,000 displaced from their homes.

Many have no access to drinking water or electricity – or even the ability to call for help, as telephone and internet services are down in many places.

On Tuesday, the state’s governor, Eduardo Leite, warned that the number of people was likely to rise as “the state of emergency continues to evolve” in the state capital, Porto Alegre, and other cities and towns. Authorities urged people not to return to affected areas due to possible landslides and health risks.

“Contaminated water can transmit diseases,” warned civil defense spokeswoman Sabrina Ribas on Wednesday.

Around 15,000 soldiers, firefighters, police and volunteers were deployed across the state, many in boats and even jet skis, to rescue those trapped and transport relief supplies.

Many people are afraid to leave their homes and go to emergency shelters because of reports of looting of abandoned properties.

The National Association of Municipalities said nearly 100,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by unprecedented rainfall and flooding in the state, with losses estimated at more than $900 million.

Around 1.4 million people live in Porto Alegre; in the larger metropolitan area there are more than twice as many.

The state’s Guaiba River, which flows through Porto Alegre, has reached historic proportions and five dams are at risk of breaching.

There were queues at public taps and fountains as officials warned that the most urgent need of people stuck on impassable roads, collapsed bridges and flooded homes was drinking water.

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 delivered water and food to communities most in need while work continued to restore road connectivity.

The Brazilian navy was scheduled to send its Atlantic ship – Latin America’s largest – with two mobile water treatment stations to Rio Grande do Sul on Wednesday.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has promised that there will be “no shortage of resources to meet the needs of Rio Grande do Sul.”

In Gasometro, a district of Porto Alegre popular with tourists, water continued to rise on Wednesday, complicating rescue efforts.

“You can only cross on foot or by boat. There is no other way,” the 30-year-old Luan Pa resident told AFP next to a road that turned into a stagnant, smelly river.

Operations at the port of Porto Alegre have been suspended and the international airport closed indefinitely.

The Air Force said the military base outside the city would receive commercial flights to transport supplies and passengers.

In a rare dry spot in Porto Alegre’s historic center, dozens of people gathered around a generator rented from a pharmacy to charge their cellphones.

“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 rains over the weekend in the Porto Alegre region.

The World Meteorological Organization said in a report on Wednesday that Latin America and the Caribbean had recorded it warmest year since records began in 2023 – “a year of record climate risks” for the region due to climate change and the El Niño weather Phenomenon.

Many cities in Brazil were affected by “extraordinary rains”, which led to displacement and massive unrest.

Because of Climate changeExtreme or rare events “are becoming more frequent and more extreme,” Jose Marengo, research coordinator at Brazil’s National Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring (Cemaden), told AFP.

According to the weather agency MetSul, the flooding has “changed the map of the metropolitan area” of Porto Alegre.