Local authorities in southern Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state have confirmed that more than 100 individuals have perished and nearly 100,000 households have been either destroyed or severely damaged as a result of over a week of historic rainfall and flooding.
The National Confederation of Municipalities provided an update on Wednesday, revealing that the overflowing rivers and floods have impacted around 1.45 million people and forced approximately 200,000 residents to evacuate their homes, as per a report from Xinhua news agency.
Official data from the Civil Defense Agency indicates that almost 99,800 homes of varying kinds have suffered either complete or partial damage since the beginning of the state’s most severe weather-related catastrophe on April 29.
A total of 414 out of 497 municipalities in the state, known for its agricultural and livestock production and bordering Argentina and Uruguay, have been affected by the storms and have declared states of emergency.
The Confederation has estimated economic losses to amount to 4.6 billion reals (around $904 million), taking into account damages to housing, public infrastructure, agriculture, livestock, industry, commerce, and services.
In just one week, Rio Grande do Sul experienced a volume of rainfall equivalent to what it typically receives over five months, leading to an unprecedented flooding situation.
