(Reuters) – Heavy rains that hit the state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil’s far south killed 31 people, local authorities said on Friday, and the death toll is expected to rise as dozens have yet to be found.
More than 70 people were still missing and at least 17,000 were displaced in the state that borders Uruguay and Argentina, which had almost half of its 497 cities affected, according to the Civil Defense of Rio Grande do Sul.
In several cities, streets have essentially turned into rivers, with roads and bridges destroyed. The storm also caused landslides and the partial collapse of a dam structure at a small hydroelectric plant.
A second dam in the city of Bento Gonçalves is also at risk of failure, authorities said, ordering the evacuation of people living nearby.
“It’s not just another critical situation; It is probably the most critical case that the state has ever recorded,” said the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite, in a live broadcast on social media on Thursday.
He added that the death toll was likely to rise further as authorities were unable to access certain locations.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva traveled to the state on Thursday to visit affected locations and discuss rescue efforts with the governor.
(Reporting by Fernando Cardoso; text by Peter Frontini; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
