Flooding in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul.
The natural disaster has destroyed homes, roads and bridges, with muddy brown water rising as high as rooftops in some areas.
More than 250 people are injured and at least 111 have been reported as missing, according to the state’s civil defence unit, so the death toll could rise.
‘Never before in the history of Brazil has there been such a quantity of rain in one single location,’ President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said.
This year, the impacts of the El Niño climate phenomenon have been particularly severe in South America, exacerbating the problems caused by climate change.
Some vineyards are completely submerged in water, and rescuers are wading through waist-deep water in a bid to save families across the state.
Local authorities reported that more than 80,000 people have been displaced as a result of the record-breaking floods.
Isolete Neumann, who lives in the city of Lajeado, told the Associated Press: ‘People were making barricades in front of hospitals with sand and gravel. It felt like a horror movie.’
Rio Grande do Sul is Brazil’s largest wine-producing state, accounting for approximately 90% of total production. The state is at the southern tip of the country, bordering Uruguay and Argentina.
Videos on social media highlight the devastating impact of the floods in Serra Gaúcha, which has faced river overflows and landslides. Others show city streets transformed into rivers in Nova Prata, a municipality in the heart of the Serra Gaúcha region.
It
