SAO PAULO (Reuters) – The death toll from rains in Brazil’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul has risen to 56, local authorities said on Saturday morning, while dozens have yet to be found.
Rio Grande do Sul’s civil defense authority said 67 people were still missing and almost 25,000 had been displaced, as the storms affected more than half of the 497 cities in the state, which borders Uruguay and Argentina.
The floods destroyed roads and bridges in several regions of the state. The storm also caused landslides and the partial collapse of a dam at a small hydroelectric plant. A second dam in the city of Bento Gonçalves is also at risk of failure, authorities said.
In Porto Alegre, capital of Rio Grande do Sul, the Guaíba River overflowed, flooding streets.
Porto Alegre international airport suspended all flights indefinitely.
State governor Eduardo Leite told reporters Friday night that the death toll could still rise.
More rain could hit the northern regions of the state on Saturday, according to Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology, and authorities urged people living in risk areas to seek shelter elsewhere.
(Reporting by Andre Romani and Eduardo Simões; editing by Daniel Wallis)
