At least 20 dead in flooding in Brazil’s Bahia state

At least 20 people have been killed in floods in northeastern Brazil, local
officials said on Monday, as the region braced for more rain.

Home to about 15 million people, weeks of intermittent flooding have
intensified in Bahia state in the last two days after a pair of dams
collapsed, sending residents scrambling.

“Unfortunately, we’re living through the worst disaster that has ever occurred
in the history of Bahia,” the state’s governor, Rui Costa, said on Monday on
Twitter, adding that 72 municipalities in Bahia are in a state of emergency.

Lately, parts of #Brazil has been dealing with deadly flooding. #Bahia is the worst hit with it being considered the worst disaster in state history. Here’s a video from RT News (likely) of rushing water. 20 people have died so far. #flood pic.twitter.com/BdrT0rAWXv

— Vortix (@VortixWx) December 28, 2021

Teams of rescuers are trying to transport supplies and bring medical care to
victims, the governor also said, but damage to bridges and highways has made
those efforts more difficult.

The two dams that collapsed over the weekend were in the cities of Jussiape
and Itambe.

flood in Brazil #flood #flooding #floods #FlashFlood #heavyrain #HeavyRains #tormenta #thunderstorm #rainfall #alluvione #lluvias #lluvia pic.twitter.com/Yx0kyAfLk3

— Aleksander Onishchuk (@Brave_spirit81) December 27, 2021

Rescue workers have been patrolling in small dinghies around the city of
Itabuna, plucking residents from their homes, including some who escaped
through second-floor windows.

Manfredo Santana, a spokesperson for Bahia’s firefighting corps, told the
Reuters news agency on Monday that emergency workers had rescued 200 people in
three towns. The heavy currents of the swollen Cachoeira River complicated
rescue efforts.

“It’s difficult to manoeuver even with jet skis,” he said. “Rescue teams had
to retreat in certain moments.”

Bahia’s civil defence agency said on Monday afternoon that 20 people had died
as a result of the floods in 11 separate municipalities.

The state government said a day earlier that more than 16,000 people had been
left homeless by the flooding.

Flash floods in Brazil 🇧🇷 after weeks of heavy rain👇👇

This is the climate crisis unravelling. No place is “safe” any more.

🎥@ivandmarquespic.twitter.com/eH2jJQGwoY

— Daniel Moser (@_dmoser) December 28, 2021

In televised remarks, Costa attributed the chaotic scenes in part to “errors
that have been committed over the course of years”.

Newspaper O Globo, citing a state firefighting official, reported that
authorities are monitoring an additional 10 dams for any signs they may
collapse.

Scrutiny of public infrastructure and urban planning comes just a few years
after the collapse of a mining dam in neighbouring Minas Gerais state killed
some 270 people.

A government task force made up of military firefighters and police has been
set up in badly-hit areas of Bahia to help respond to the disaster.

Cities are Sinking, Dams are Collapsing, People are Suffering! Floods in Bahia Brazil pic.twitter.com/RnYqg946S0

— #كابتن_غازي_عبداللطيف (@CaptainGhazi) December 28, 2021

In the state capital of Salvador, weather officials said December rainfall has
been six times greater than the average.

The heavy rainfall coincides with La Nina, a weather phenomenon that typically
occurs every three to five years and leads to cooler Pacific Ocean
temperatures than normal.

With information from aljazeera.com