The death toll from floods after days of rain in Brazil has risen to at least 66. Another six deaths are being investigated and 101 people are missing, the civil defense of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul said on Sunday.
Accordingly, more than 400,000 connections were without electricity and around 840,000 people were without water, dozens of communities were without internet and telephone connections and 113 road sections were blocked. More than 80,000 people had to leave their homes and around 15,000 had to take shelter in emergency accommodation. 332 communities have been affected by the floods since the beginning of last week. The city center of Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, was also under water.
The governor of the state on the border with Argentina and Uruguay, Eduardo Leite, spoke of an unprecedented disaster. Despite the rain gradually becoming lighter, the number of victims could still rise “exponentially” because some areas have not yet been reached. A kind of Marshall Plan will be needed to rebuild Rio Grande do Sul, he said, alluding to the US economic support program for the reconstruction of Europe after the Second World War.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva traveled to the affected area for the second time on Sunday. He had spoken of one of the largest floods in the history of the South American country. According to the government, around 1,600 people and 32 helicopters were on permanent rescue missions. The Air Force has saved more than 200 people so far.
Civil defense warned on Sunday of the risk of further floods and landslides. Parts of the affected region had already experienced storms and floods last September, with a total of at least 42 deaths.
Video of Lula press conference on X Civil Defense Porto Alegre on
