Floods are drowning hundreds of cities in Brazil, water covered the airport

According to Tuesday’s data, at least 85 people have died, and about 150 thousand more. residents had to leave their homes, officials said.

Some towns remain isolated, and hopes of finding more than 130 missing people are dwindling, the BBC reports.

According to the forecast, heavy rains are also expected this week, so the situation in the region is likely to worsen.

Many residents were forced to leave their homes, and the most vulnerable were evacuated by rescue workers.

Porto Alegre airport will remain closed until at least the end of the month after the Guaiba River overflowed its banks and engulfed the runway and key buildings, the Brazilian Airlines Association said on Tuesday.

The river rose to a record level of 5.3 meters, local officials said. The previous record (4.76 meters) was recorded in 1941.

The airport is not the only major building closed due to flooding in Porto Alegre, home to about 1.5 million people. people. The pitch of the Arena de Gremio stadium is also covered in brown mud.

In some neighboring towns, such as Kano, the situation is even worse.

Extreme weather conditions resulted from higher than normal temperatures, high humidity and strong winds.

Climate expert Francisco Eliseu Aquino told AFP that the southern Rio Grande has always been a meeting point between tropical and polar air masses, adding that “this phenomenon has intensified due to climate change.”

In just 10 days, this state near the Argentina-Uruguay border has received as much rain as it normally receives in three months.

Many residents are afraid to leave their homes for fear of being victimized by robbers and thieves.

“The past few days have been really scary. I didn’t sleep all night. Strangers were walking around the house,” a 27-year-old local resident told the UOL news portal.

Brazilian news portal G1 reported that the Air Force is using drones to find people cut off from the outside world.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made his second visit to the flood-hit area on Sunday. He spoke of one of the worst floods in the country’s history and promised more aid.