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Brazil authorities warn of more floods, landslides as new rains hit south
Brazil authorities warn of more floods, landslides as new rains hit south
Nearly 140 people have been killed so far
New rains in waterlogged southern Brazil are expected to be heaviest between Sunday and Monday, authorities have warned, bringing fresh misery to victims of flooding that has killed 136 people so far.
State authorities warned late Saturday 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.
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.
“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.
Soldiers from the Brazilian Air Force prepare donations to be sent to flood victims in Rio Grande do Sul at Brasilia Air Base, Brazil on May 10, 2024. Teams raced against the clock on May 9 to deliver aid to flood-stricken communities. Photo: AFPOf 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.
UN experts and the Brazilian government blame climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon for the inundation.
US President Joe Biden said in a statement that he was “saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the flooding”, adding that Washington was “working to provide necessary assistance” in coordination with Brazilian authorities.
Watch: Cars carried away by floodwaters as month’s worth of rain pelts Malta
Watch: Cars carried away by floodwaters as month’s worth of rain pelts Malta
People trapped in cars, homes flooded, walls collapse
Flash floods carried away cars, collapsed walls and trapped motorists in their submerged vehicles after a month’s worth of rain fell in a matter of hours on Thursday.
Police and army units were deployed as roads turned into rivers, leading to multiple water rescues and road closures throughout the day.
An overwhelmed Civil Protection Department appealed for people to avoid valleys and areas close to the sea. There were no reports of fatalities.
But two of their own officers had to be rescued by an Armed Forces of Malta helicopter as they got into difficulty rescuing an elderly man trapped in his car in Burmarrad. All three were airlifted to safety.
In another dramatic scene, a family of four was stranded on the roof of their taxi in Salina as the water rose around them. Eventually they had to use a rope to wade across to safety.
A woman is carried on the back of a Civil Protection Department officer in a rescue in Salina. Photo: Jonathan Borg“Reports indicate that this is one of the worst storms we have had in a long time,” said the CPD, who doubled its officers on duty to cope with “the influx of calls for assistance”.
Initially the CPD focussed its entire operation on rescue work, but by Thursday evening, a clean-up operation began and it started responding to non-urgent calls.
The flooding causing traffic jams on the Coast Road. Photo: Jonathan BorgThe Met Office issued an amber weather warning in the morning and revealed that an average of 74.6mm of rain fell, with one weather station in Selmun measuring 107.6mm in 24 hours.
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