Death toll from floods in Brazil’s south climbs to 143
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A man cleaning his partially destroyed house on May 11. More than 130 people have died as a result of storms and floods battering Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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RIO DE JANEIRO – The death toll from heavy rain in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state has climbed to 143, the local civil defence government body said on May 12, up from 136 the previous day, while another 125 people remain unaccounted for.
Storms and floods battering the South American country’s southernmost state
The government announced around 12.1 billion reals (S$3.18 billion) in emergency spending to deal with the crisis.
About 446 urban centres have been impacted, affecting the lives of more than 2.1 million people in a state whose population is about 10.9 million.
Weather forecaster MetSul has reported that after a short respite, rain coming down over the state on May 10 have begun to fill rivers in what it called a “worrying” situation.
“Accumulated precipitation is occurring in the worst possible region given the current flood scenario, along the basins and in the sources of the main rivers that are still full,” the meteorological service said in a public statement.
The state is at a geographical meeting point between tropical and polar atmospheres, which has created a weather pattern with periods of intense rain or drought.
Local scientists believe the pattern has been intensifying due to climate change. REUTERS
