Brazil flooding death toll surpasses 100

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil: The death toll from devastating floods that have ravaged southern Brazil for days surpassed 100 on Wednesday, authorities said, as the search for dozens of missing people was interrupted by fresh storms.

Some 400 municipalities have been affected by the worst natural calamity ever to hit the state of Rio Grande do Sul, with hundreds of people injured and more than 160,000 forced from their homes.

Many have no access to drinking water or electricity – or even the means to call for help, with telephone and internet services down in many places.

On Tuesday, state governor Eduardo Leite had warned the human toll was likely to rise as “the emergency is continuing to develop” in the state capital of Porto Alegre and other cities and towns.

Some 15,000 soldiers, firefighters, police and volunteers were at work across the state, many in boats and jet skis, to rescue those trapped and transport aid.

But in Porto Alegre the rains returned on Wednesday, halting evacuation efforts.

The mayor’s office urged rescue boats to suspend their activities, citing the risk of electric shocks from lightning and strong winds of over 80 kilometres per hour.

Authorities urged people not to return to affected areas due to possible landslide and health hazards.

“Contaminated water can transmit diseases,” civil defense spokeswoman Sabrina Ribas warned on Wednesday.

Many people have been loath to leave their homes for the safety of shelters amid reports of abandoned properties being looted.

The National Confederation of Municipalities said about 61,000 homes – down from an earlier estimate of 100,000 – had been damaged or destroyed by unprecedented rains and floods in the state, with losses estimated at about 6.3 billion reais (some US$1.2 billion.)

Damage to schools, hospitals and municipal buildings amounted to about US$69 million.