Brazil. Floods. The death toll is rising and flood embankments are at risk

At least 56 people have been killed and 67 are missing in floods in southern Brazil caused by heavy rainfall, the country's civil defense said on Saturday. More than 70 people were injured.

The state of Rio Grande do Sul was particularly hard hit. As AFP reported, authorities issued evacuation orders for some districts of the state capital, Porto Alegren.

In total, over 32,000 people were evacuated across the state. Electricity does not reach 350,000. houses and apartments.

The level of the Guaiba River flowing through the city has risen to more than five meters, which is higher than during the historic flood of 1941. The river overflowed its banks and, as a result of flooded streets, access to the historic central districts of the city was blocked.

Salgado Filho International Airport in Porto Alegre has suspended flights, Terra reported. In the area of ​​the state capital, flood embankments are at risk – the Metropoles portal reported.

In several cities in the state, streets turned into rivers and many roads and bridges were destroyed. Heavy rainfall also caused landslides and a partial collapse of the dam structure at a small hydroelectric power plant. Authorities said a second dam in the town of Bento Goncalves could also collapse, ordering residents in nearby areas to evacuate.

Downpours occurred in more than half of the 497 cities in the region, which borders Uruguay and Argentina.

Heavy rains hit Rio Grande do Sul last September, when an extratropical cyclone caused flooding that killed more than 50 people. This came after more than two years of persistent drought caused by the La Nina phenomenon, which led to sparse rainfall.