Disaster

Brazil is deploying 500 troops, a field hospital and three Navy ships to help people hit by some of the worst flooding in decades in the Amazon.

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Carolina Pimentel Reporter Agencia Brasil

Brasília – Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas, the largest city in the Amazon region (population 2.2 million) and the center of manufacturing, commerce and finances in the Northern region of Brazil, is presently faced with record-breaking water levels in local rivers. The city sits on the banks of the Rio Negro, close to its mouth where it flows into the Amazon River. At that point, the Rio Negro is around 14 kilometers wide!

Boats and planes are being used by a Tearfund partner in northern Brazil to reach people affected by some of the worst flooding seen in the region.

Torrential rain has caused rivers to burst their banks in Acre state, making 26,000 families homeless and forcing seven municipalities to declare states of emergency.

Nineteen indigenous communities have been inundated by the flood waters which have caused widespread damage to cash crops such as cassava.

by Priscilla Mazenotti, Roberta Lopes and Pedro Peduzzi

Brasília – The worst rains in over five years have caused the Acre River to rise to its second highest level in history resulting in severe damage in the state of Acre. The Acre River is at 17.41 meters, putting it over three meters above its flooding level (the highest level ever was in 1997 when it reached 17.66 meters). The flooding has now had a negative impact on over 60,000 people, leaving at least 7,000 homeless.

In the capital, Rio Branco, a large part of the city is now underwater.

Rio de Janeiro – The government of the state of Rio de Janeiro decreed a state of emergency in three more muncipalities in the North and Northwestern regions of the state yesterday. They are: São Fidélis, Campos dos Goytacazes and Bom Jesus do Itabapoana.

Seven municipalities were already in a state of emergency (“situação de emergência”) in the same part of the state: Cardoso Moreira, Laje do Muriaé, Santo Antônio de Pádua, Aperibé, Itaperuna, Italva e Miracema.

Isabela Vieira Reporter Agência Brasil

Sapucaia, RJ – The federal highway, BR-393, that has been closed after being partially destroyed by flooding runs through the municipality of Sapucaia. The situation in the region has become critical. Following three days of landslides the latest reports are that 19 people have lost their lives due to the rains, floods and mudslides. At least nine homes in the town of Sapucaia, population slightly over 17,000, have been destroyed and even more homes are in danger of collapsing.

Brazilian rescuers digging through mud that buried homes in Rio de Janeiro state have found a further four bodies, bringing the number of victims to 12.

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