Diego Vara/Portal
Funeral directors and forensic workers load bodies of victims into a refrigerated truck after an extratropical cyclone hit southern towns in Mucum, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, September 6, 2023.
CNN –
Over thirty people have died after heavy rain and flooding in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, the state’s governor Eduardo Leite said on Wednesday.
Leite visited the disaster area on Wednesday morning and promised on social media that no effort would be spared to rebuild the houses and infrastructure destroyed by the rising waters.
The storm is expected to continue impacting the region for the remainder of the week.
According to CNN regional affiliate CNN Brasil, this week’s rains are the worst natural disaster to hit the state in 40 years.
Diego Vara/Portal
Residents’ belongings are seen cleaning up a flooded area in Mucum, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, September 6, 2023.
Diego Vara/Portal
Debris from flood-affected houses in Mucum, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, September 6, 2023.
The Brazilian meteorologist Dr. Maria Clara Sassaki told CNN Brasil that within a week the state received the average amount of rainfall expected for the entire month of September.
According to Leite, this week’s rains are the fourth extreme weather event in Rio Grande do Sul in the last three months.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Ministry of Social Development (MDS) said at least 50 communities in the two southern states were affected, with about 80% of the town of Muçum in Rio Grande do Sul underwater.
On Wednesday, the Regional Civil Protection Service issued a flood warning around the Jacuí River and the Jacuí Delta.
“The situation is critical,” MDS Minister Wellington Dias said on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday.
Diego Vara/Portal
People walk in front of a damaged building in Mucum, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, September 6, 2023.
Diego Vara/Portal
Houses are seen in Lajeado, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, on September 6, 2023.