57 dead after heavy rains in Brazil, dozens still missing

Floods destroyed roads and bridges in several regions of the state (File)

São Paulo:

The death toll caused by rains in Brazil’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul has risen to 57, local authorities said on Saturday afternoon, while dozens remain uncounted.

Rio Grande do Sul’s civil defense authority said 67 people were still missing and more than 32,000 had been displaced, as the storms affected almost two-thirds 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, Lake Guaíba overflowed, flooding streets.

Porto Alegre international airport suspended all flights indefinitely.

Rain is expected in the North and Northeast regions of the state over the next 36 hours, but the volume of precipitation has been decreasing and is expected to be well below the peak observed at the beginning of the week, according to the state meteorological agency.

Still, “the water level of the rivers is expected to remain high for a few days,” said Governor Eduardo Leite on Saturday in a live video on his social media, adding that it is difficult to determine for how long.

Rio Grande do Sul is at a geographic meeting point between the tropical and polar atmospheres, which has created a climate pattern with periods of intense rain and others of drought.

Local scientists believe the pattern has intensified due to climate change.

Heavy rains had already hit Rio Grande do Sul last September, when an extratropical cyclone caused floods that killed more than 50 people.

This happened after more than two years of a persistent drought due to the La Nina phenomenon, with little rain.

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