The death toll in the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul continues to rise according to multiple media reports, with at least 75 lives lost in the unprecedented flooding.
The figure is expected to rise in the coming days as 103 people were reported missing as of Sunday, up from 70 the previous day. Around two-thirds of the nearly 500 towns and cities in the state have been affected, leaving more than 88,000 people displaced.
Flooding has also destroyed roads and bridges and partially collapsed one dam at a small hydroelectric plant, with another dam in the city of Bento Gonçalves at risk of collapse. Guiaba Lake also broke its banks in the capital of Porto Alegre, flooding the city centre and shutting down the airport.
[See more: Brazil’s deadly floods blamed on ‘perfect storm’ of meteorological factors]
Rio Grande do Sul, bordering Uruguay and Argentina, is no stranger to high precipitation. Located at the geographical meeting point between tropical and polar atmospheres, the area often experiences bouts of intense rain and drought.
This weather pattern, however, is intensifying, likely as a result of climate change. An extratropical cyclone caused floods last September that killed more than 50 people, the deluge of water coming after more than two years of persistent drought during which the region saw only scarce showers.
As some cities report the highest water levels seen since records began nearly 150 years ago, residents struggle to comprehend the damage. A woman living in the Taquari River Valley, where entire communities disappeared beneath the flood waters, told media that “It was like a horror movie.”
