Reuters, Diego Vara
Funeral directors and forensic workers load the bodies of victims into a refrigerated truck after an extratropical cyclone battered southern cities, in Mocum, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, September 6, 2023.
CNN
—
More than thirty people have died after torrential rains and floods in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, state governor Eduardo Leite announced on Wednesday.
Light visited the disaster area on Wednesday morning and vowed on social media that no effort would be spared to rebuild homes and infrastructure destroyed by the rising waters.
The storm is expected to continue affecting the region for the rest of the week.
According to CNN affiliate CNN Brasil, the rains this week are the worst natural disaster to hit the state in 40 years.
Reuters, Diego Vara
Residents’ belongings are seen amid the clean-up of a flooded area in Mocum, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, September 6, 2023.
Reuters, Diego Vara
Debris of homes damaged by floods in Mocum, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, September 6, 2023.
Brazilian meteorologist Dr. María Clara Sasaki told CNN Brasil that within a week the state received the average amount of rain forecast for the entire month of September.
The rains this week are the fourth extreme weather event Rio Grande do Sul has seen in the past three months, according to Leite.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Ministry of Social Development said that at least 50 municipalities in the two southern states were affected, with nearly 80% of the city of Mocum in Rio Grande do Sul submerged.
On Wednesday, the Provincial Civil Defense Service issued a flood alert around the Jacqui River and the Jacqui Delta.
“The situation is critical,” Social Democratic Movement Minister Wellington Dias said Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Reuters, Diego Vara
People walk past a damaged building in Mocum, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, September 6, 2023.
Reuters, Diego Vara
Houses in Lagido, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil on September 6, 2023.
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