In Brazil, deadly storms destroy 100,000 houses and take 100 lives

May 9, Sao Paulo Local officials in Rio Grande do Sul state, south Brazil, have reported that after more than a week of record rainfall and floods, at least 100 people have died and about 100,000 dwellings have been demolished or severely damaged.

In an update released on Wednesday, the National Confederation of Municipalities said that the state’s overflowing rivers and floods had impacted 1.45 million people and caused 200,000 inhabitants to evacuate their homes, according to Xinhua news agency.

Since the state’s biggest weather-related catastrophe struck on April 29, around 99,800 dwellings of all sorts have suffered either entire or partial damage, according to statistics from the Civil Defense service, the confederation said.

The state, a major producer of cattle and agriculture that borders Uruguay and Argentina, has 414 out of 497 communities that have declared emergencies as a result of the storms.

The confederation calculates that the economic losses amount to 4.6 billion reals, or almost $904 million, after accounting for the harm done to public infrastructure and housing, as well as to businesses, services, industry, livestock, and agriculture.

Rio Grande do Sul received five months’ worth of rain in a single week, causing never-before-seen floods.