Images taken from space show a submerged airport runway and a flooded football field due to severe floods in Brazil.
Over 95 individuals in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state have tragically passed away due to intense rainfall and floods. These disasters have affected more than one million people in 385 municipalities, as per the civil defense.
Approximately 150,000 residents were forced to relocate from their homes because of these catastrophic events. Taquari and Cai Rivers, both located in the region, were significantly impacted. These rivers overflowed and majorly exceeded their banks.
A pictorial representation from satellite images shows two contrasting scenarios. The first image, taken on April 21st, features the Guaiba River in Porto Alegre, Brazil's state capital, displayed when it was not yet flooded. The second image, taken on May 7th, reveals the same location when it was significantly inundated. One photograph, from Maxar Technologies, illustrates how an entire district with homes was flooded in the northern part of Porto Alegre. Roads have transformed into muddy rivers, while extensive fields turned brown with floodwater.
Salgado Filho International Airport at Porto Alegre experienced severe flooding as well, resulting in submerged runways and roads. Buildings, however, remained dry.
In reference to the heavy rainfall, it has been connected to El Niño—a natural climatic event warming the Pacific and usually resulting in substantial rainfall in southern Brazil. Human-induced global warming, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels, has intensified the extreme weather in this region.
Satellite images show an overview of the Guaiba River in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on April 21, before the floods, and on May 7, after the area was inundated. Maxar Technologies
Once a bountiful agricultural region in Brazil's south, Rio Grande do Sul has been frequently confronted with extreme weather events recently.
In central Porto Alegre, a football stadium known as the Gremio Arena, with a seating capacity of 55,000, has been besieged by vast floodwaters. The entire pitch has sunk underwater.
The Gremio Arena, pictured before flooding (left) and under water (right) in Maxar Technologies' video.
The Brazilian Football Confederation has postponed games involving teams from Rio Grande do Sul until May 27th. Neymar Jr., a popular Brazilian football star, posted a heartwarming message on Instagram alongside a picture of a plane loaded with supplies like bottled water. He said, "Our Brazil is going through challenging times, and helping is never too much, no matter your financial situation, it's what you carry in your heart that matters."
Porto Alegre's Salgado Filho International Airport is seen before flooding, left, and with its runways submerged under flood waters, right. Maxar Technologies
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva submitted a legislative decree to Congress on May 9th to expedite the transfer of resources to the impacted region.
Around 46,000 people were recovered from the flooding by a large-scale rescue operation involving 15,000 people.
Mauricio Torres, CNN en Español, as well as Michael Rios and Julia Vargas Jones of CNN contributed to this story's reporting.
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The Brazilian Football Confederation had to postpone games involving teams from Rio Grande do Sul until May 27th due to the flooding of the Gremio Arena football stadium. Over 150,000 residents in the affected areas were given temporary shelter in relief centers.
Source: edition.cnn.com
