September 6, 2023
Updated 51 minutes ago
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Watch: Deadly cyclone hits southern Brazil, kills 21 people
Torrential rain and cyclonic winds have killed at least 27 people in southern Brazil, with more flooding expected.
The governor of Rio Grande do Sul said it was the state’s worst weather disaster ever.
Thousands have been forced from their homes, officials said.
In Mucum, a town of 5,000 people, hundreds had to be rescued from their roofs as 85% of the town was flooded, according to local media.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said the federal government was ready to help.
“Where there is a problem, the federal government will be there to save people from these problems,” he said.
Eduardo Leite, governor of Rio Grande do Sul, said at a news conference that 15 more bodies were found in Mucum on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 21.
More than 300 mm (11 inches) of rain fell on the state in less than 24 hours, triggering floods and landslides, officials said.
“People are still missing,” Mucum Mayor Mateus Trojan told Radio Gaucha.
“The death toll could rise even higher. The town of Mucum as we knew it no longer exists.”
Rescue workers used helicopters to reach areas cut off by floods.
Further north in the town of Nova Bassano, resident Dirce Reginatto said she was “devastated.”
“There are many people who have lost much more, but here at home I have nothing left,” she told Portal.
Luana Da Luz from Passo Fundo was rescued by firefighters.
“We saw it [water] “I’ve wanted to fill everything since dawn,” she said. “We were already putting things on the table, on the wood stove, but it didn’t help.”
Many factors contribute to flooding, but warming of the atmosphere caused by climate change increases the likelihood of extreme rainfall.
The world has already warmed by about 1.2°C since the beginning of the industrial era, and temperatures will continue to rise unless governments around the world make drastic emissions cuts.