As a tropical cyclone pounded and saturated the region, flooding homes and swollen rivers, local authorities reported on Wednesday that the death toll from torrential rains in southern Brazil had increased to 36.
In footage obtained by Reuters, increasing water was shown flooding streets and rivers, as well as engulfing homes, in the small town of Mucum in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Cities nearby, like Lajeado and Roca Sales, were also severely affected.
Nothing could be saved, according to Dominguez Fontana, a 74-year-old sawmill worker who managed to escape the Mucum disaster.
"When the water was coming I escaped to the highway," he explained. "You have to escape. If you stay there you die."
While the state is still on flood warning, the rain halted on Tuesday, but climate forecaster Climatempo predicted further rain on Wednesday and Thursday before the storms end by Sunday.
The floods in Rio Grande do Sul are only the most recent natural disasters to affect Brazil. Sao Paulo state had landslides and flooding this year as a result of heavy rains, which resulted in the deaths of more than 50 people.
Similar catastrophes have affected the colonial city of Petropolis near Rio de Janeiro and the state of Bahia, as well as Santa Catarina, a state close to Rio Grande do Sul where another victim was verified on Tuesday.
To express the full support of the federal government, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva claimed to have spoken with Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite.
Along with announcing that Vice President Geraldo Alckmin would be "on standby" to go to the severely affected Rio Grande do Sul state, which is home to over 11 million people, Lula dispatched two ministers to oversee search and rescue operations.
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