Dozens of people died and went missing due to the most powerful flood in Brazil over 80 years

As a result of pouring rains in the state of Ri-Grandi-Du-Sul in the south of Brazil, a strong flood began. At least 37 local residents died, another 74 are missing, reports the Associated Press. At least 23 thousand people were forced to leave their homes.

According to Reuters, the flood affected about half of all cities of the state. In many of them, the streets turned into rivers, and roads and bridges were destroyed. The flood provoked the landslides and partial collapse of the dam at the hydroelectric power station between the cities of the Bento-Gongsalves and the Cotipor. Another dam in this area is under threat of destruction. The locals remaining there are called for immediate evacuation.

“This is not just another critical situation. This is probably the most critical case ever registered in the state, ”said the local governor Eduardo Leita. On Thursday, Brazilian President Luis Inasio Lula da Silva flew to the state to visit the injured areas and meet the governor.

There are disconnects of electricity, communications and water throughout the state, notes The Guardian. Due to the lack of Internet and telephone communication, local residents are hardly associated with relatives from other regions. Above flooded cities fly helicopters that take people from the roofs of houses.

Powerful showers hit the south of Brazil on Monday. It is expected that they lasted at least until Saturday. According to the Brazilian Geological Service, this flood on the scale surpassed the historical flood of 1941. In some cities, the water level has become the highest over the past 150 years.

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