Flood Death Toll in Brazil Rises to 90 People, Dozens More Still Stranded

JAKARTA - The death toll from flooding in Rio Grande do Sul State, southern Brazil on Tuesday increased to 90 people, while many affected victims had difficulty finding food and basic supplies.

On the outskirts of Eldorado do Sul, 17 kilometers from the state capital Porto Alegre, many people who left their homes slept on the side of the road and said they were starving. Whole families set out on foot, carrying belongings in backpacks and shopping carts.

"We've been three days without food and we just got this blanket. I'm with people I don't even know, I don't know where my family is," one young man told Reuters, as quoted on May 8.

Flooding has hampered rescue efforts, leaving dozens of people still waiting to be evacuated by boat or helicopter from their stricken homes. Small boats crisscrossed the flooded city in search of survivors.

The state Civil Defense Agency said the death toll had risen to 90 with four more deaths under investigation, while 131 people remained unaccounted for and 155,000 people were homeless.

Heavy rains that started last week have caused rivers to overflow, inundating entire cities and destroying roads and bridges.

In Porto Alegre, a city of 1.3 million people located on the banks of the Guaiba River, streets in the city center were submerged in water.

Meanwhile, supermarket shelves are empty and petrol stations are closed, with shops rationing mineral water sales. The city government distributed water by truck to hospitals and shelters.

The flooding also impacted water and electricity services, with more than 1.4 million people affected overall, according to Brazil's Civil Defense.

Nearly half a million people were without electricity in Porto Alegre and surrounding cities, as power companies cut supplies for safety reasons in flood-hit neighborhoods. National electricity grid operator ONS said five hydroelectric dams and transmission lines were closed due to heavy rain.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on a state television program that the extent of the damage would not be known until the waters receded. He promised federal aid for the state in its worst-ever climate disaster.

In addition to destroying critical infrastructure, heavy rains and flooding have flooded grain fields and killed livestock, disrupted soybean harvests and halted work at some meat plants.

The Port of Rio Grande is operating normally, the state's port authority said. As a major port for grain exports, the city is not affected by the rise in the level of the Laguna dos Patos lagoon into which the Guaiba River flows.

However, main road access is impassable, disrupting grain deliveries to ports as trucks have to take wide detours, exporters said.