A total of 116 cities in the north-eastern Brazilian state of Bahia are in a state of emergency because of flooding due to heavy rains that have been pounding the region since the end of November.
Cities in at least five other states in Brazil’s north and south-east have also been flooded in recent days.
In Bahia, flooding has affected more than 400,000 people. In at least 50 cities, water surged into homes and businesses and people were forced to abandon their belongings.
Official data from the state government shows that 31,500 people have been left homeless and an additional 31,000 displaced. There have been 20 deaths and 358 people injured since the beginning of the month.
This is the heaviest period of rainfall for Bahia in 32 years, according to the website of the National Centre for Monitoring and Alerts of Natural Disasters, a government agency. In southern Bahia, the rain has been more than five times the normal amount for this time of year.
In an interview with local radio stations on Tuesday morning, Bahia’s governor, Rui Costa, compared the situation to a “bombardment”. He also said that coronavirus vaccines were lost in the floods in some cities.
“Some municipal health offices and medicine depots were completely under water,” he said.
On Tuesday, the population of at least four municipalities in Bahia received warnings to leave their homes because of the increased flow of the Pardo River. The flow was due to the opening of the Machado Mineiro dam’s sluice gates in neighbouring Minas Gerais state, according to the state government’s advisory office.
Bahia’s Civil Defence superintendent, Colonel Miguel Filho, told The Associated Press that there were still flooded and isolated cities, and the rain was continuing.
“Our first response is to help, then to shelter, to care for the population in the shelters by giving humanitarian aid, with sheets, blankets, food,” he said.
He added that at least five dams in Bahia were at risk of bursting. Bridges and federal and state roads in the state were destroyed and had been provisionally rebuilt to allow food and other items to be brought to people in need.
“We still don’t have a complete list of all the damage caused, the amount of structures that will need to be replaced,” Governor Costa said. “It isn’t possible to stipulate a timeframe for recovery, because we don’t have that dimension. We’re guaranteeing accessibility, the detour, the temporary structure so that people can come and go.”
The federal government has authorised emergency spending totalling 80 million reais (£10.6 million) for Bahia alone. Additional funds will be directed to other regions also affected by the rains in recent weeks that are still suffering the consequences.
In Tocantins state, which is adjacent to Bahia in Brazil’s northern region, 22 municipalities have been affected by the rains. The executive director of the state’s civil defence authority, Major Alex Matos, told the AP this number was expected to grow in the coming hours.
“We’re predicting an increase in the volume of the Araguaia River, which will fill the Tocantins River even more,” he said.
