At least 100 dead and dozens still missing amid devastating floods in Brazil
The death toll from devastating floods that have ravaged southern Brazil for days reached 100 on Wednesday, authorities said, as the search continued for dozens of people still missing.
Nearly 400 municipalities have been affected by the worst natural calamity ever to hit the state of Rio Grande do Sul, with hundreds of people injured and 160,000 forced from their homes.
Many have no access to drinking water or electricity — or even the means to call for help with telephone and internet services down in many places.
warmest year on record in 2023 — “a year of record climatic hazards” for the region due to climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon.
Many towns and cities in Brazil, it said, were hit by “exceptional rainfall” that caused displacement and massive upheavals.
Due to climate change, extreme or rare events “are becoming more frequent and more extreme,” Jose Marengo, research coordinator at Brazil’s National Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring (Cemaden) told AFP.
According to weather agency MetSul, the flooding has “changed the map of the metropolitan region” of Porto Alegre.
Source: cbsnews.com