Climate & environment

Floods

Many dead after torrential rains in Brazil

TT-AFP

Published 2024-05-03 05.11

At least 29 people have died and the destruction is great after torrential downpours, floods and landslides in southern Brazil. Photo: Carlos Fabal/AFP/TT

At least 29 people have died and 60 are missing in floods and landslides following torrential rains in southern Brazil. According to the governor of the region of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite, it is the worst natural disaster in the history of the area. A state of emergency has been declared and the death toll is expected to rise.

Around 15,000 people have fled their homes since Saturday and more than 50,000 are without electricity and clean water, the BBC reports. Brazilian President Lula da Silva has visited the region and promises help from the government.

The extreme weather has been caused by a combination of unusually high temperatures, high humidity and strong winds. The danger is not over, the rains continue and the great river Guaiba, which has already overflowed, is expected to rise further.

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More than 200 dead in floods
TT
 
More than 200 people have died due to floods in Kenya.

In an address to the nation, President William Ruto says "meteorological reports paint a gloomy picture" as a cyclone threatens to make landfall over the Kenyan coast in the coming days.

Skyfall has lashed East Africa in recent weeks, and more than 150,000 people have been displaced from their homes.

Next week, schools in Kenya, which had been closed due to the catastrophic weather, were to reopen, but Ruto announced that it would be postponed indefinitely.