At least 13 people have been killed and 21 are missing after heavy rains flooded southern Brazil, prompting the state government to send rescue helicopters to search for stranded residents, authorities said on Thursday.
According to experts, the torrential rains that have fallen on the state of Rio Grande do Sul in recent days have been well above the norm for this time of year.
In the last four days of April, the state received about 70% of the precipitation it normally sees for the entire month, according to National Institute of Meteorology data analyzed by The New York Times.
The rains swelled rivers in the state’s lower central valley, flooding towns, causing a bridge to collapse, blocking roads and triggering mudslides. One town, Canudos do Vale, remained isolated without electricity or communications. In the city of Candelária, residents waited for rescue helicopters on the roofs of their flooded homes.
Nearly 10,000 people were forced to flee their homes, Rio Grande do Sul’s civil protection agency said in a statement. The crisis prompted Grande do Sul governor Eduardo Leite to declare a state of emergency on Wednesday evening.
“We are living, in Rio Grande do Sul, the worst moment, the worst disaster in our history,” Leite said in a press conference on Wednesday. “And unfortunately things are going to get worse.”
Authorities have struggled to reach isolated residents, with search and rescue teams unable to go to some areas due to high river levels and heavy flooding. With nowhere to land, some helicopters used winches to pull residents up from flooded areas.
“We won’t be able to do all the rescues,” Leite said Wednesday.
Meteorologists warned that more rain was likely to arrive in the coming days, which could complicate rescue operations.
The president of the country, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was to visit the region on Thursday, promised that federal agencies would “join the efforts of state government and municipalities to overcome this difficult time.”
Last year, 37 people were killed in the same region of Brazil by torrential rains and violent winds caused by a cyclone.
The National Meteorological Institute She said the region was recovering from the effects of a natural weather phenomenon known as El Niño, which can bring heavy rain to southern regions of Brazil while causing drought in the Amazon rainforest.
