Dozens killed in Brazil floods as extratropical cyclone brings widespread devastation
Rain totals across Brazil range from 3.5 inches in Porto Alegre to 11.72 inches in Passo Fundo. The flooding is the latest in a string of natural disasters to hit Brazil this year.
Brazil military police rescue family from flooding
This footage was posted to Twitter by the military police in Rio Grande do Sul, shows them rescuing a family of six from the roof of a house in Arroio de Meio near the Taquari River in Brazil. Credit: Brigada Militar-RS via Storyful
RIO GRANDE do SUL, Brazil – Flooding from an extratropical cyclone killed more than two dozen people in southern Brazil this week when more than 11 inches of rain fell in just days in some areas.
Governor of Rio Grande do Sul Eduardo Leite said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that thousands of people in the region were rescued after heavy rainfall began Sunday.
Aerial view of the area affected by an extratropical cyclone in Muçum, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, taken on September 5, 2023. (Photo by MATEUS BRUXEL/AGENCIA RBS/AFP via Getty Images)
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Leite said in a recent update that at least 27 deaths have been confirmed from the flooding, while Reuters, sourcing local authorities, said the death toll had reached 31. One woman died during her rescue when a cable snapped as she was being airlifted from the Taquari River, according to Leite. Her rescuer was seriously injured, the governor said.
"We are dismayed by the lethality of this weather event and mobilized to save all those still in danger," Leite wrote, translated into English from Portuguese via Google Translate.
Water rescues underway in southern Brazil from deadly flooding
Video shared by Rio Grande do Sul Gov. Eduardo Leite shows a water rescue for a family stranded by flooding in Lajeado, Brazil where some areas have received up to 11 inches of rain since Sunday.
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Officials said more than 55 municipalities suffered flooding damages as heavy rainfall swelled rivers and turned streams into raging rivers.
Rain totals across Brazil range from 3.5 inches in Porto Alegre to 11.72 inches in Passo Fundo. Cambara Do Sul received 9.34 inches, and Santiago saw 7.76 inches, according to Brazil's National Institute of Meteorology. Most of the rain has fallen since Sunday.
Aerial view of the area affected by an extratropical cyclone in Muçum, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, taken on September 5, 2023. Torrential rain and winds caused by an extratropical cyclone have left at least 27 people dead in southern Brazil, officials said Tuesday, warning more flooding may be coming. (Photo by MATEUS BRUXEL/AGENCIA RBS/AFP via Getty Images)
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The flooding threat continues as rain remains in the forecast for the affected areas this week.
Brazil's National Institute of Meteorology forecasts up to 11 more inches in the Rio Grande do Sul area through the weekend. Wet weather is expected in the same area for the next two weeks.
Latest in string of global flooding catastrophes
The flooding is the latest in a string of natural disasters to hit Brazil this year. Heavy rainfall has also led to flooding across other countries in recent months, including deadly flooding in Spain, Italy, Greece and India.
In February and March, heavy rainfall led to flooding and deadly landslides in São Paulo, where people were left stranded when São Paulo state highways were covered in mud and debris.
Deadly Brazil landslides
Flooding rains triggered at least 52 deadly landslides Tuesday in Petropolis, Brazil.
In June, at least 11 people died in Brazil from flooding caused by another extratropical cyclone.
"This is the fourth severe weather event to hit the state since June," Leite said Wednesday.
Heavy rains caused devastating flooding in April, displacing thousands of people across 64 cities in the Marahao state of Brazil.
Firefighters continue to battle thousands of fires in the Amazon rainforest this week, which recently experienced its worst day of fires in 15 years, according to satellite imagery from the Brazilian space agency, INPE.
Firefighters battle a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest in Iranduba, metropolitan region of Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, on September 5, 2023. (Photo by Michael Dantas / AFP) (Photo by MICHAEL DANTAS/AFP via Getty Images)
More than 3.6 million acres of the Amazon have burned since the beginning of 2023, according to the Rainforest Foundation. The fires are primarily started by industrial agriculture and cattle-ranching operations. August and September are the peak burning season in the Amazon.