Friday, May 03, 2024

 

Dam collapses in southern Brazil as death toll from flooding rises to 29

An official in said Rio Grande do Sul was dealing with 'the biggest weather disaster our state has ever faced'

A drone view shows houses in the flooded area next to the Taquari River during heavy rains in the city of Encantado in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, May 1, 2024. REUTERS/Diego Vara TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
By Taz Ali
Senior world reporter
May 3, 2024 

A state of emergency has been declared in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, where days of torrential rain has triggered landslides, flooding and the collapse of a hydroelectric dam, forcing more than 10,000 people from their homes.

At least 29 people have died and 60 are missing, with flooding so severe in some areas that entire communities have been completely cut off.

A dam at a hydroelectric plant burst on Thursday, leaving more than 300,000 people without electricity, according to the state’s main utility company.

Electricity and water cuts were reported across the state, with numerous incidents of flooded roads, landslides and collapsed bridges as water levels of rivers and streams rose sharply.

People walk in a flooded area next to the Taquari River during heavy rains in Encantado, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, May 2, 2024. REUTERS/Diego Vara
People walk in a flooded area in Encantado (Photo: Diego Vara/Reuters)
TOPSHOT - A team of firefighters work at a flooded street in the city center of Sao Sebastiao do Cai, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil on May 2, 2024. The death toll from a severe storm in Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil, rose to 13, amid the "worst disaster" in the history of the state where President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva traveled on Thursday. (Photo by Anselmo Cunha / AFP) (Photo by ANSELMO CUNHA/AFP via Getty Images)
A team of firefighters work at a flooded street in Sao Sebastiao do Cai (Photo: Anselmo Cunha/AFP via Getty Images)

State governor Eduardo Leite said Rio Grande do Sul was dealing with “the biggest weather disaster our state has ever faced”.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited the affected areas on Thursday to meet with local authorities.

TOPSHOT - Aerial view shows a flooded area of Capela de Santana, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, on May 2, 2024.??. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday visited the country's south where floods and mudslides caused by torrential rains have killed 13 people, with the toll likely to rise. Authorities in Rio Grande do Sul have declared a state of emergency, as rescuers continue to search for some 21 people reported missing among the ruins of collapsed homes, bridges and roads. (Photo by CARLOS FABAL / AFP) (Photo by CARLOS FABAL/AFP via Getty Images)
A flooded area in Capela de Santana (Photo: Carlos Fabal/AFP via Getty Images)
Partial view of the Swarowsky supermarket affected by heavy rains in Sinimbu, in the Vale do Rio Pardo region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil on May 1, 2024. The toll after heavy rains in Brazil's southern state of Rio Grande do Sul rose to eight dead and 21 missing, regional authorities said Wednesday. The deluges have displaced approximately 1,400 people in more than 100 municipalities across the state, the majority of whom civil defence officials said had been moved to shelters. (Photo by Anselmo Cunha / AFP) (Photo by ANSELMO CUNHA/AFP via Getty Images)
A supermarket affected by heavy rains in Sinimbu (PhotoL Anselmo Cunha/AFP via Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - An aerial view shows flooded areas in Encantado city, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on May 1, 2024. At least 10 people have died in floods caused by torrential rains in Brazil's south, authorities said on May 1, as rescuers searched for nearly two dozen individuals reported missing. (Photo by Gustavo Ghisleni / AFP) (Photo by GUSTAVO GHISLENI/AFP via Getty Images)
Flooded areas in Encantado city (Photo: Gustavo Ghisleni/AFP via Getty Images)

“Everything that is within reach of our government will be done to attend to the needs of the people who are being affected by these rains,” he wrote on X.

The downpour began on Monday and was expected to last through Friday. Some areas saw more than six inches of rain in 24 hours, according to Brazil’s national institute of meteorology (Inmet).

It comes after Brazil had a record number of natural disasters in 2023, with 1,161 events including landslides and burst river banks.

A team of firefighters work at a flooded street in the city center of Sao Sebastiao do Cai, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil on May 2, 2024. The death toll from a severe storm in Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil, rose to 13, amid the "worst disaster" in the history of the state where President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva traveled on Thursday. (Photo by Anselmo Cunha / AFP) (Photo by ANSELMO CUNHA/AFP via Getty Images)
Emergency workers rescue people in a flooded street in Sao Sebastiao do Cai (Photo: Anselmo Cunha/AFP via Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - Jefferson Abreu Teles, resident of Quilombo neighborhood, rests after choosing to stay at his flooded house in Sao Sebastiao do Cai, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil on May 2, 2024. The death toll from a severe storm in Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil, rose to 13, amid the "worst disaster" in the history of the state where President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva traveled on Thursday. (Photo by Anselmo Cunha / AFP) (Photo by ANSELMO CUNHA/AFP via Getty Images)
The death toll from a severe storm in Rio Grande do Sul has risen to 29 (Photo: Anselmo Cunha/AFP via Getty Images)
View of a flooded street after heavy rains in Encantado, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil on May 1, 2024. At least ten people died and 21 are missing due to heavy rains in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities said Wednesday. (Photo by Gustavo Ghisleni / AFP) (Photo by GUSTAVO GHISLENI/AFP via Getty Images)
A flooded street in Encantado (Photo: Gustavo Ghisleni/AFP via Getty Images)

More than 50 people were killed in the south-eastern Sao Paulo state last year after massive downpours caused flooding and landslides.

Weather across South America is affected by the climate phenomenon El Niño, which warms surface waters in the Equatorial Pacific region. In Brazil, El Niño has historically caused droughts in the north and intense rainfall in the south.

Additional reporting by agencies 

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