Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Floods in southern Brazil kill at least 60, with 101 people missing

Share
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil -

Massive floods in Brazil’s southern Rio Grande do Sul state killed at least 60 people and another 101 were reported missing, according to Sunday's toll from local authorities.

At least 155 people were injured, while damage from the rains forced more than 80,000 people from their homes. Approximately 15,000 took refuge in schools, gymnasiums and other temporary shelters.

The floods left a wake of devastation, including landslides, washed-out roads and collapsed bridges across the state. Operators reported electricity and communications cuts. More than 800,000 people are without a water supply, according to the civil defense agency, which cited figures from water company Corsan.

On Saturday evening, residents in the town of Canoas stood up to their shoulders in muddy water and formed a human chain to pull boats carrying people to safety, according to video footage shared by local UOL news network.

The Guaiba river reached a record level of 5.33 metres (17.5 feet) on Sunday morning at 8 a.m. local time, surpassing levels seen during a historic 1941 deluge, when the river reached 4.76 metres.

“I repeat and insist: the devastation to which we are being subjected is unprecedented,†State Gov. Eduardo Leite said on Sunday morning. He had previously said that the state will need a “kind of ‘Marshall Plan’ to be rebuilt.â€

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva arrived in Rio Grande do Sul on Sunday, accompanied by Defense Minister José Múcio, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad and Environment Minister Marina Silva, among others.

During Sunday mass at the Vatican, Pope Francis said he was praying for the state’s population. “May the Lord welcome the dead and comfort their families and those who had to abandon their homes,†he said.

The downpour started Monday and was expected to last through to Sunday. In some areas, such as valleys, mountain slopes and cities, more than 300 millimetres (11.8 inches) of rain fell in less than a week, according to Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology, known by the Portuguese acronym INMET, on Thursday.

The heavy rains were the fourth such environmental disaster in a year, following floods in July, September and November 2023 that killed 75 people in total.

Weather across South America is affected by the climate phenomenon El Niño, a periodic, naturally occurring event that 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.

This year, the impacts of El Niño have been particularly dramatic, with a historic drought in the Amazon. Scientists say extreme weather is happening more frequently due to human-caused climate change.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

British Columbia saw a rare unanimous vote in its legislature in October 2019, when members passed a law adopting the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, setting out standards including free, prior and informed consent for actions affecting them.

Two and a half years after losing her best friend and first love to suicide, Brooke Ford shared her story of grief and resilience at the CMHA Windsor-Essex Suicide Awareness Walk.

A pedestrian has died after reportedly getting struck by an OPP cruiser in Bala early Sunday morning.

opinion

opinion How to make the most out of your TFSA

The Tax-Free Savings Account can be a powerful savings tool and investment vehicle. Financial contributor Christopher Liew explains how they work and how to take full advantage of them so you can reach your financial goals faster.

Local Spotlight

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.

An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.