Outlook Web Desk
Floods in Brazil’s southern Rio Grande do Sul state have killed at least 75 people over the last seven days, with another 103 reported missing.
At least 155 people were injured, and the heavy rains forced more than 88,000 people from their homes.
Approximately 16,000 people took refuge in schools, gymnasiums, and other temporary shelters.
The floods left a wake of devastation, including landslides, washed-out roads, and collapsed bridges across the state.
Operators reported electricity and communications cuts, and more than 800,000 people are without a water supply.
The heavy rains were the fourth such environmental disaster in the state in a year, following floods in July, September, and November 2023 that killed 75 people.
Weather across South America is affected by the climate phenomenon El Ni?o, a periodic, naturally occurring event that warms surface waters in the Equatorial Pacific region.
"We need to stop running behind disasters. We need to see in advance what calamities might happen and we need to work." - President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
"May the Lord welcome the dead and comfort their families and those who had to abandon their homes." - Pope Francis