Nearly 25,000 residents have been displaced from their homes, and over half a million people are without power and clean water. The relentless rain is expected to continue, raising concerns about further casualties and damage.
Authorities attribute the extreme weather event to a rare combination of high temperatures, humidity, and strong winds. More than half of the state's cities have been impacted, with widespread destruction of roads and bridges.
A dam collapse near Bento Gonçalves is responsible for at least 30 deaths, and another dam in the area faces a potential breach due to rising water levels. The flooding has reached Porto Alegre, the state capital, where the Guaíba River overflowed its banks, inundating streets and submerging neighborhoods. The city's international airport has suspended all flights indefinitely.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited the affected region, pledging federal government support. Meteorologists warn of further rain as a cold front moves through the area.
This disaster comes on the heels of a cyclone that claimed over 30 lives in Rio Grande do Sul last year. Experts attribute the increasing frequency and intensity of rainfall events to the climate phenomenon El Niño. (ILKHA)