Brasilia:

Record floods that killed over 170 people and displaced half a million in southern Brazil are a warning sign of more disasters to come throughout the Americas because of climate change, an official at the United Nations’ refugee agency said on Tuesday.

Roughly 389,000 people in the state of Rio Grande do Sul remain displaced from their homes because of the intense rain and flooding, which local officials say was the worst disaster in the region’s history. Scientists say climate change made the flooding twice as likely to happen.

Andrew Harper, special advisor on climate action to the refugee agency UNHCR, visited a flooded neighborhood in state capital Porto Alegre over the weekend and called it “a ghost town.”

“It was underwater for almost 40 days. There wasn’t even any rats running around. Everything had died,” Harper said in an interview on Tuesday.

Even after the flood waters subsided, residents have not returned to the neighborhood where streets are piled high with water-logged garbage and debris. Many are still living in shelters, including Venezuelan refugees who had resettled in Porto Alegre.

UNHCR is helping the local government to build temporary housing.

Residents of some hard hit areas may never return, having been forced to move by repeated flooding, Harper said. But how many would become so-called climate migrants will only be known years after the disaster.

The floods surpassed all expectations that local authorities had for climate disasters, and governments need to do more to prepare for these events, Harper said.

“We’re seeing the emergence in Brazil of what we may be seeing throughout the Americas. So to ignore this, they do it at their own peril,” Harper said.

Governments need to understand where the people most vulnerable to climate change live, like the neighborhood he visited in Porto Alegre, and include those people in their climate plans, he said.

“It’s a warning signal, but we’ve been seeing warning signals now for five, ten years,” Harper added. “At what point do you basically have to slap somebody in the face and say, ‘Wake up, you’re not going to ignore this.'”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Cars are partially submerged on a street flooded by heavy rains in Sao Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, on May 11, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Rain continued to soak waterlogged southern Brazil on Saturday, bringing fresh misery to victims of flooding that has killed 136 people so far.

“Many people see the rain and are traumatized. We’ve seen how scared people are,” said Enio Posti, a firefighter in Porto Alegre, capital of stricken Rio Grande do Sul state.

Heavy rains last week caused rivers in the agricultural state to overflow, leaving 806 injured and 125 missing in addition to those killed, the civil defence agency said.

Of the more than two million people affected by the flooding, more than 537,000 have been forced from their homes with 81,000 in shelters.

More than 92,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by the floods, according to the National Confederation of Municipalities.

United Nations experts and the Brazilian government blame climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon for the inundation.

New downpours were expected to be heaviest between Sunday and Monday, and state authorities were warning of the risk of further rising waters and landslides.

“We are still experiencing an emergency situation,” Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite said in a video on Instagram.

Residents were told to stay away from flooded areas, with dangers including electrocution by downed power lines.

“I was soaked. They helped me and gave me clothes,” 36-year-old Everton Machado told AFP after being rescued by boat while searching for his parents.

Aid distribution

In the flooded streets of the Sao Joao neighbourhood, volunteers and firefighters worked in heavy rain, bringing supplies to residents on jet skis and inflatable boats.

Volunteers were taking pets to shelters, with veterinarians treating those with medical needs.

Military and other security forces were also part of relief efforts. Almost two tons of food and supplies have been distributed by the federal government, in what President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called “the largest movement of donations ever recorded in the history” of Brazil.

The federal government this week promised some $10 billion for reconstruction in Rio Grande do Sul, which is experiencing its worst ever climate disaster.

Water levels in the state’s Guaiba River, which runs through Porto Alegre, home to 1.4 million people, reached historic levels this week.

On Saturday afternoon, they dropped to 4.57 meters, the lowest level since May 3.

Despite the new rain, residents of Porto Alegre were trying to regain some normalcy, with some shops and restaurants opening.

But with water supplies still disrupted, tanker trucks delivering clean water were a common sight all over town.

Elsewhere, vacuum trucks were pumping muddy floodwater from the streets and buildings.

In recent months, Brazil has been hit by historic floods, record-breaking forest fires, unprecedented heat waves and drought.

Sao Paulo:

At least 100 people have died and nearly 100,000 homes have been destroyed or significantly damaged from more than a week of record rainfall and flooding in south Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state, local authorities have said.

The National Confederation of Municipalities said in an update on Wednesday that overflowing rivers and floods in the state have affected around 1.45 million people and forced some 200,000 residents to flee their homes, Xinhua news agency reported.

Based on data from the Civil Defense agency, some 99,800 residences of all types have sustained either total or partial damage since the state’s worst weather-related disaster hit on April 29, according to the confederation.

As many as 414 of 497 towns in the state, a top agricultural and livestock producer that borders Argentina and Uruguay, have suffered from the storms and declared emergencies.

The confederation estimates the economic losses at 4.6 billion reals (about $904 million), taking into account the damage to housing and public infrastructure, as well as agriculture, livestock, industry, commerce and services.

In just one week, Rio Grande do Sul saw five months’ worth of rain, sparking unprecedented flooding.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Army members, firefighters, healthcare personnel and volunteers participate in the rescue operation in the Sarandi neighborhood which was affected by the floods, in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil on May 5, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Authorities in southern Brazil scrambled Sunday to rescue people from raging floods and mudslides in what has become the region’s largest ever climate catastrophe, with at least 78 dead and 115,000 forced from their homes.

Entire cities were underwater, with thousands of people cut off from the world by the floodwater, brought by days of torrential rains.

In Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul state, residents stood on rooftops hoping to be rescued as others in canoes or small boats navigated streets that have become rivers.

After what one climatologist called “a disastrous cocktail” of climate change and the El Nino effect, more than 3,000 soldiers, firefighters and other rescuers were trying to reach residents, who were in many cases trapped without basic supplies such as running water or electricity.

Civil defense officials said at least 105 people were missing in the latest of a string of catastrophic weather events to hit the South American giant.

“It looks like a scene out of a war, and after it is over it will require a post-war approach,” Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite said, flanked by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and several government ministers.

Mr. Lula promised the government would provide all necessary resources for reconstruction.

Besides Porto Alegre, another 341 towns and villages have been hit by the flooding.

Soldiers are setting up field hospitals after hundreds of patients had to be evacuated from regular hospitals, while civilians have also formed volunteer groups to gather basic supplies, including life jackets, water and fuel.

“Everyone helps in their own way, as they can,” said Luis Eduardo da Silva, a 32-year-old volunteer.

The Guaiba River, which flows through the city of 1.4 million people, reached a record high level of 5.3 meters (17.4 feet), according to the local municipality, well above the historic peak of 4.76 metres that had stood as a record since devastating 1941 floods.

“Rio Grande do Sul has always been a meeting point between tropical and polar air masses,” climatologist Francisco Eliseu Aquino told AFP.

“But these interactions intensified with climate change” to create “a disastrous cocktail that makes the atmosphere more unstable and encourages storms.”

Rosana Custodio, a 37-year-old nurse, fled her flooded Porto Alegre home with her husband and three children.

“During the night on Thursday the waters began to rise very quickly,” she told AFP via a WhatsApp message.

“In a hurry, we went out to look for a safer place. But we couldn’t walk… My husband put our two little ones in a kayak and rowed with bamboo. My son and I swam to the end of the street,” she said.

Her family was safe, but “we’ve lost everything we had.”

‘It’s terrifying’

Authorities scrambled to evacuate swamped neighborhoods as rescue workers used four-wheel-drive vehicles — and even jet skis — to maneuver through waist-deep water in search of the stranded.

Governor Leite said his state, normally one of Brazil’s most prosperous, would need heavy investment to rebuild.

Long lines formed as people tried to board buses, although bus services to and from the city center were canceled.

The Porto Alegre international airport suspended all flights on Friday for an undetermined period, with its runways underwater.

Mr. Lula posted a video of a helicopter depositing a soldier atop a house, who then used a brick to pound a hole in the roof and rescue a baby wrapped in a blanket.

The speed of the rising waters unnerved many.

“It’s terrifying because we saw the water rise in an absurd way, it rose at a very high speed,” said Greta Bittencourt, a 32-year-old professional poker player.

‘Disastrous cocktail’

Mr. Leite said this was the worst natural disaster in the history of Rio Grande do Sul, which is home to agro-industrial production of soy, rice, wheat and corn.

Mr. Lula, who visited the state twice in a matter of days, has blamed the disaster on climate change.

South America’s largest country has recently experienced a string of extreme weather events, including a cyclone in September that killed at least 31 people.

Porto Alegre:

Nearly 70,000 people have been forced from their homes amid deadly flooding, mudslides and torrential storms in southern Brazil, with the major city of Porto Alegre particularly hard-hit, the country’s civil defense agency said Saturday.

Raging floodwaters have left 57 dead, 74 people injured and another 67 missing, civil defense said.

The death count did not include two people who died in an explosion at a flooded gas station in Porto Alegre, witnessed by an AFP journalist, where rescue crews were attempting to refuel.

Fast-rising water levels in the state of Rio Grande do Sul were straining dams and particularly threatening economically important Porto Alegre, a city of 1.4 million. 

The Guaiba River, which flows through the city, is at a historic high of 5.04 meters (16.5 feet), well above the 4.76 meters that had stood as a record since devastating 1941 floods.

Authorities were scrambling to evacuate swamped neighborhoods as residents struggled in chaotic conditions to find their way to safety.

In addition to the 69,200 residents forced from their homes, civil defense also said more than a million people lacked access to potable water amid the flooding, describing damage as incalculable.

Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite said his state — normally one of Brazil’s most prosperous — would need a “Marshall Plan” of heavy investment to rebuild after the catastrophe.

In many places, long lines formed as people tried to board buses, although bus service to and from the city center was canceled.

The Porto Alegre International Airport suspended all flights on Friday for an undetermined period. 

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva posted a video of a helicopter depositing a soldier atop a house, where he used a brick to pound a hole in the roof and rescue a baby wrapped in a blanket.

In a northern Porto Alegre suburb, 61-year-old Jose Augusto Moraes looked shaken after fast-rising floodwaters engulfed his house and he had to call firefighters to rescue a trapped child.

“I lost everything,” he told AFP. 

‘Going to be much worse’

With waters starting to overtop a dike along another local river, the Gravatai, Mayor Sebastiao Malo issued a stern warning on social media platform X, saying, “Communities must leave!”

He urged people to ration water, after four of the city’s six treatment plants had to be closed.

In a live transmission on Instagram, Governor Leite said the situation was “absolutely unprecedented,” the worst in the history of the state, home to agroindustrial production of soy, rice, wheat and corn.

Residential areas were underwater as far as the eye can see, with roads destroyed and bridges swept away by powerful currents.

Rescuers faced a colossal task, with entire towns inaccessible.

At least 300 municipalities have suffered storm damage in Rio Grande do Sul since Monday, according to local officials.

‘Water up to my waist’

Roughly a third of the displaced have been brought to shelters set up in sports centers, schools, and other facilities.

“When I left the house, I was in water up to my waist,” a haggard-looking Claudio Almiro, 55, told AFP in a cultural center converted to a shelter in a suburb north of Porto Alegre.

He said that while he had lost everything, “Many people lost their lives, so I raise my hands to heaven and thank God for having survived.”

The rains also affected the southern state of Santa Catarina, where one man died Friday when his car was swept away by raging floodwaters in the municipality of Ipira.

Lula, who visited the region Thursday, blamed the disaster on climate change.

The devastating storms were the result of a “disastrous cocktail” of global warming and the El Nino weather phenomenon, climatologist Francisco Eliseu Aquino told AFP on Friday. 

South America’s largest country has recently experienced a string of extreme weather events, including a cyclone in September that claimed at least 31 lives.

Aquino said the region’s geography meant it was often confronted by the effects of tropical and polar air masses colliding — but these events have “intensified due to climate change.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Residents observe a flooded street at the city center of Sao Sebastiao do Cai, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil on May 2, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The death toll from floods and mudslides triggered by torrential storms in southern Brazil climbed to 39 on Friday, officials said, as they warned of worse to come.

As the rain kept beating down, rescuers in boats and planes searched for scores of people reported missing among the ruins of collapsed homes, bridges and roads.

Rising water levels in the state of Rio Grande do Sul were straining dams and threatening the metropolis of Porto Alegre with “unprecedented” flooding, authorities warned.

“Forget everything you’ve seen, it’s going to be much worse in the metropolitan region,” Governor Eduardo Leite said Friday as the streets of the state capital, with a population of some 1.5 million, started flooding after days of heavy downpours in the region.

The state’s civil defense department said at least 265 municipalities had suffered storm damage in Rio Grande do Sul since Monday, injuring 74 people and displacing more than 24,000 – a third of whom have been brought to shelters.

At least 68 people were missing, and more than 350,000 have experienced some form of property damage, according to the latest data.

And there was no end in sight, with officials reporting an “emergency situation, presenting a risk of collapse” at four dams in the state.

Disastrous cocktail

The level of the state’s main Guiaba river, meanwhile, was estimated to have risen 4.2-4.6 meters (about 13.7-15 feet), but could not be measured as the gauges have washed away, the mayor of Porto Alegre said.

As it kept rising, officials raced to reinforced flood protection.

Porto Alegre’s worst recorded flood was in 1941, when the river reached a level of 4.71 meters.

Elsewhere in the state, several cities and towns have been completely cut off from the world in what Governor Leite described as “the worst disaster in the history” of Rio Grande do Sul.

Many communities have been left without access to drinking water, telephone or internet services.

Tens of thousands have no electricity.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited the region Thursday, vowing “there will be no lack of human or material resources” in responding to the disaster, which he blamed on climate change.

The central government has sent aircraft, boats and more than 600 soldiers to help clear roads, distribute food, water and mattresses, and set up shelters.

School classes have been suspended state-wide.

“I feel very sorry for all those who live here… I feel pain in my heart,” Maria Luiza, a 51-year-old resident of Sao Sebastiao do Caí, some 40 miles (70 km) from Porto Alegre, told AFP.

In Capela de Santana, north of the state capital, Raul Metzel explained that his neighbors had to abandon their livestock.

“You don’t know if the water will continue to rise or what will happen to the animals, they may soon drown,” he said.

Climatologist Francisco Eliseu Aquino told AFP on Friday the devastating storms were the result of a “disastrous cocktail” of global warming and the El Nino weather phenomenon.

South America’s largest country has recently experienced a string of extreme weather events, including a cyclone in September that claimed at least 31 lives.

Aquino said the region’s particular geography meant it was often confronted by the effects of tropical and polar air masses colliding — but these events have “intensified due to climate change.”

And when they coincide with El Nino, a periodic weather system that warms the tropical Pacific, the atmosphere becomes more unstable, he said.

Extreme flooding hit the state in the last two years at “a level of recurrence not seen in 10,000 years,” said Aquino, who heads the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul’s geography department.

Swiped off: Rubble of houses destroyed by landslips following heavy rains in Petropolis, Brazil, on March 23.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Rescuers in boats and aircraft raced against the clock on March 24 to help isolated people in Brazil’s mountainous southeast after storms and heavy rains killed at least 20 people.

With more rain predicted on March 24, the deluge pounded the States of Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo, where authorities described a chaotic situation due to flooding. The death toll rose there from four to 12 on Sunday as rescuers advanced.

The most affected municipality is Mimoso do Sul, a town of almost 25,000 inhabitants located in the south of Espirito Santo, where at least 10 people died in floods, though officials fear the toll may yet rise. State Governor Renato Casagrande described the situation as “chaotic,” saying that so far it has not been possible to assess the damage in some of the more isolated areas, with fears the toll could yet rise. Search teams rescued a girl buried for more than 16 hours in the city of Petropolis. Her father, who was found dead next to her on Saturday, had “heroically protected the girl with his body,” a neighbour said.

The deluge came as Brazil, South America’s largest country, suffers through a recent string of extreme weather events, which experts say are more likely to occur due to climate change.

Such tragedies “are intensifying with climate change,” President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in a post on X, adding that thousands had been left homeless by the storm. He expressed sympathy for the victims, and said his government was working with state and local authorities to “protect, prevent and repair flood damage.”