116 cities in northeastern Brazil overrun by floods

BRASILIA, Brazil — A total of 116 cities in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia were in a state of emergency Tuesday, because of flooding from heavy rains that have been pounding the region since the end of November.

Cities in at least five other states in Brazil’s north and southeast have also been flooded in recent days.

In Bahia, flooding has affected more than 400,000 people. In at least 50 cities, water surged into homes and businesses, and people were forced to abandon their belongings. Official data from the state government shows 31,500 people have been left homeless and an additional 31,000 were displaced. There have been a total of 20 deaths and 358 people injured since the beginning of the month.

This is the heaviest period of rainfall for Bahia in the past 32 years, according to the website of the National Center for Monitoring and Alerts of Natural Disasters, a government agency. In southern Bahia, it rained more than five times the normal amount for this time of year.

In an interview with local radio stations Tuesday, Bahia’s governor, Rui Costa, compared the situation to a “bombardment.” He also said coronavirus vaccines were lost in the flooding in some cities.

“Some municipal health offices and medicine depots were completely underwater,” he said.

On Tuesday, the population of at least four municipalities in Bahia received warnings to leave their homes because of the increased flow of the Pardo River because of the opening of the Machado Mineiro dam’s sluice gates in neighboring Minas Gerais state.