Hefty rain and flooding have claimed the lives of around 29 individuals in Brazil.
A state of emergency has been declared in areas where over 67,000 people in approximately 150 municipalities have been affected. Around 10,000 individuals have been forced to leave their homes and more than 4,500 of them are currently in temporary shelters, the civil defense reported.
Officials are closely monitoring the stability of dams that are not equipped to handle this massive influx of water, but they reassured that there is currently no immediate danger of collapse.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met with authorities managing the relief efforts on Thursday.
"We are unfortunately witnessing a historical disaster," said the state's governor, Eduardo Leite. "The material losses are massive, but our top priority is search and rescue. There are still people in need of assistance."
Footage shows muddy brown water filling up to the rooftops in various neighborhoods, while emergency response teams use inflatable rafts to save people and their pets.
The state of Rio Grande do Sul has been experiencing an increase in extreme weather events in recent years. Last September, over 30 people lost their lives due to heavy rainfall in the region.
Climate change, mainly driven by human consumption of fossil fuels, is amplifying extreme weather conditions globally, making them more severe and frequent.
In just the past few weeks, record-breaking rainfall has unleashed deadly floods and chaos in Dubai, while persistent drought and heatwaves in Southeast Asia have led to depleted reservoirs. Kenya has been dealing with massive flooding and intense rainfall that has caused rivers to overflow, resulting in nearly 200 fatalities.
2022 was the warmest year on record, with air and ocean temperatures rising above what most scientists had anticipated. The planet is already 1.2 degrees Celsius warmer than it was prior to industrialization.
The number of high-intensity hurricanes, commonly known as tropical cyclones, has increased due to the increased global temperatures, as per the United Nations. Scorching heatwaves are appearing more often and lasting longer.
Researchers have also discovered that storms tend to remain stationary and produce excessive rainfall, lasting longer after making landfall.
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The governor mentioned that the material losses due to the disaster are massive, but the top priority is search and rescue, implying that many people are still missing. The dams, which are not equipped to handle the influx of water, are closely monitored, as officials want to prevent any potential collapse causing further damage.
Source: edition.cnn.com
