- Heavy rains in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state have killed 31 people, with the death toll expected to rise further.
- More than 70 people are still missing and about 17,000 people have been evacuated.
- The state’s civil defense agency reported that nearly half of the 497 cities were affected.
Heavy rains have hit Brazil’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, killing 31 people, local authorities said Friday, and the death toll is expected to rise as dozens are still missing. did.
More than 70 people remain missing in Rio Grande do Sul state, which borders Uruguay and Argentina, and at least 17,000 people have been evacuated, with nearly half of its 497 cities still missing, Rio Grande do Sul’s civil defense authority said. influenced.
In some towns, roads and bridges were destroyed, effectively turning roads into rivers. The storm also caused landslides and the partial collapse of a dam structure at a small hydropower plant.
Death toll rises to 13 in southern Brazil due to heavy rains and flooding
A second dam in the city of Bento Gonçalves was also at risk of bursting, authorities said, and people living nearby were ordered to evacuate.
Drone footage of flood-affected areas in Encantado, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on May 3, 2024. (Reuters/Diego Vara)
Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite said in a live social media broadcast on Thursday: “This is not just a crisis situation, this is probably the most critical situation the state has ever recorded.” Stated.
He added that the death toll is likely to rise further as authorities are unable to access certain locations.
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President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was in the state on Thursday, visiting affected areas and discussing relief efforts with the governor.
