CNN
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Serial death toll A catastrophic flood In the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, at least 83 have risen, the state’s civil protection unit said Monday.
Authorities are investigating four more deaths to determine if they are related to the storms.
Another 276 people were injured, at least 111 were missing, while at least 121,000 people were displaced, Rio Grande do Sul’s Civil Defense said.
The disaster has affected more than 850,000 people in 345 municipalities, destroying homes, roads and bridges.
Renon Matos/Reuters
Army firefighters rescued one person by helicopter.
Amanda Perobelli/Reuters
People were rescued in canoes.
CNN spoke to local residents and evacuees who said they saw bodies of the dead still in the floodwaters, not yet counted in the death toll.
Col. Jose Carlos Salat, deputy commander of the Rio Grande do Sul military firefighters, told CNN on Sunday that about 1,000 firefighters were involved in rescue efforts.
“Once the rain stops, they do short operations to save as many people as possible. Yesterday (Saturday) we were able to intensify operations,” said Salet.
Pictures showed muddy brown water rising to rooftops in some areas, with rescue teams carrying people and pets with inflatable rafts.
Diego Vara/Reuters
Mud also came out after the floodwaters receded in Jacaresinho.
Gustavo Ghisleni/AFP/Getty Images
Ruined buildings in Roga Sales.
Rio Grande do Sul has been increasingly affected by extreme weather events in recent years, and at least 54 people died in September after enduring a subtropical cyclone.
The climate crisis, caused primarily by humans burning fossil fuels, is exacerbating extreme weather events worldwide And more serious And more often.
