Floods in Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul have so far killed 75 people and left more than 100 missing, local authorities said on Sunday.
The province’s civil defense authority said 101 people were missing and more than 80,000 people had been evacuated after record flooding hit the province, which borders Uruguay and Argentina.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva The prime minister arrived in Rio Grande do Sul on Sunday with most of his ministers to discuss relief and recovery efforts with local authorities.
Rescue workers continue to race against time to save people from severe flooding and landslides. Rescuers used four-wheel-drive vehicles and sometimes jet skis to wade through waist-deep water to search for people stranded by rising waters.
A video posted online by Lula showed a helicopter lowering soldiers onto the roof of the house, and the soldiers using bricks to cut a hole in the roof and rescue the baby, who was wrapped in a blanket.
The storm affected nearly two-thirds of the state’s 497 cities, leading to landslides, destroyed roads, collapsed bridges and even power and water outages. According to Brazil’s Civil Defense Agency, more than 1 million people lacked access to drinking water.
On Thursday, a dam at a hydroelectric power plant between the cities of Bento Gonçalves and Cotipora partially collapsed, completely submerging entire cities in the Takali River basin, including Lajeado and Estrela. Helicopters flew constantly over the city as stranded families with children waited on rooftops for rescue.
One woman said she had never seen anything like this. Isolete Neumann: “It was like a horror movie” told the Associated Press Early this week. “People were building barricades with sand and gravel in front of the hospital.”
Lula said last week that the flood was one of the largest that Brazil had ever experienced. “Never before in Brazil’s history has so much rain fallen in one place.” he told reporters.
According to Brazil’s Geological Service, flooding across the state exceeds what was seen during the 1941 flood. Water levels in some cities were the highest since record-keeping began nearly 150 years ago, the agency added.
In Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul state, the Guaiba River burst its banks and flooded roads. Aerial photos show residential areas in Porto Alegre are underwater as far as the eye can see, with the rooftops of some houses barely visible.
Across the city, people were standing on rooftops waiting for rescue, while others were navigating streets turned rivers in canoes and small boats. Porto Alegre International Airport suspended all flight operations indefinitely on Friday.
State weather officials said rain was expected to continue in the northern and northeastern parts of the state, but precipitation is expected to decline and remain below levels seen in recent days. At the beginning of the week, some areas received up to 150 millimeters of rainfall within a 24-hour period.
“River levels should remain high for several days,” Governor Eduardo Leite said on social media on Saturday, adding that it was difficult to determine exactly how long the situation would last.
At the beginning of the week, Leyte explained about the flood as a “watershed moment” for the nation. “This event will be the worst climate disaster our state has ever faced,” he wrote on social media Wednesday.
Rio Grande do Sul is located at the geographic intersection of tropical and polar atmospheres, resulting in weather patterns that include periods of heavy rain and drought. Local scientists say this pattern is intensifying as a result of the man-made climate crisis.
In September, an extratropical cyclone hit the state of Rio Grande do Sul, causing flooding and killing more than 50 people. The cyclone occurred after more than two years of drought, during which there was little rain in the region.
With contributions from Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Associated Press
