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Brazil

Brazil - Floods and landslides, update (INMET, Defesa Civil Rio Grande do Sul, Copernicus EMSR) (ECHO Daily Flash of 17 May 2024)

  • The number of casualties and the damage are still increasing following the heavy rainfall that has been affecting the Rio Grande do Sul state since early May, causing floods and triggering landslides and mudslides.
  • The Civil Defense of Rio Grande do Sul reports, as of 16 May, 151 fatalities, 104 people still missing, 806 injured people, nearly 540,200 displaced people - of which around 77,200 evacuated in several shelters - and a total of approximately 2,282,000 affected people across 461 municipalities throughout the state. The same source reports over 76,600 rescued people across the affected municipalities.
  • The Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMSR720) was activated in rapid mapping mode on 3 May to provide the damage assessment, producing 17 maps so far.
  • Over the next 72 hours, heavy rainfall with locally very heavy rainfall is still forecasted over northern Rio Grande do Sul state.