Brazil faces historic floods: thousands displaced, infrastructure destroyed

Torrential rains have hit the state of Rio Grande do Sul, leaving dozens missing and thousands displaced, while terrible floods have literally destroyed roads and bridges

Nearly 25,000 individuals forced out of their homes, 265 municipalities affected, and over 400,000 people left without access to water. Dozens of bridges swept away and demolished, with 68 officially missing and 56 confirmed fatalities.

These staggering figures emerge from Brazilian local authorities as the country grapples with floods of a magnitude unseen in at least 80 years, since the historic deluge of 1941.

Unprecedented deluge

Torrential rains and flooding have unleashed a veritable catastrophe, pushing water levels to their highest since records began nearly 150 years ago.

Streets have morphed into rivers in several cities, bridges lay in ruins, and the storm triggered landslides along with the partial collapse of a dam structure at a hydroelectric plant.

Focus on Porto Alegre

All eyes are on the capital, Porto Alegre, where the Guaiba River surged beyond its historical record level of 16.3 feet, submerging vast swathes of the city underwater. This inundation surpasses that of the last major flood in 1941 when the Guaiba reached 15.6 feet.

Porto Alegre’s airport has been indefinitely closed.

Devastation Across the Nation

The scale of devastation extends beyond Porto Alegre, with countless lives disrupted and infrastructure crippled across the nation.