At least 28 people have been killed in two southern states of Brazil in just a matter of days as a severe storm hit the region. The states of Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo are struggling with severe floods, overflowing rivers, and landslides as the rainy seasons gets into full swing.
The state of Espírito Santo has reported 19 deaths and Rio de Janeiro has confirmed another nine fatalities. The severe storm destroyed hundreds of houses in Espirito Santo with over 5,400 people being evacuated from the affected areas.
The authorities had issued warnings about the storm before it actually hit and had urged people to stay inside but the deluge proved to be overwhelming despite all the safety and rescue steps put in place.
President Luiz Inacio Lula wrote on a social media platform that the storm had left thousands homeless and highlighted that his government and the local authorities would make joint efforts to “protect, prevent and repair flood damage”.
“The new normal”
This year’s lethal floods follow those in 2023 when heavy rains caused 50 deaths on the coast of São Paulo in March. The hills were unable to contain the high level of water and collapsed onto houses, burying people alive while others were swept away by the force of the rivers. The 2023 storm was the most intense ever recorded by the meteorological services in Brazil, with an accumulation of over 68.2 centimeters in 24 hours.
The previous record for the most intense storm had been set just a year earlier when the city of Petrópolis in Rio de Janeiro was flooded by over 53 centimeters of rain in 24 hours, leaving more than 200 victims and devastating buildings and infrastructure.
As the largest South American country has now been witnessing extreme weather events for several years, experts have warned that this might be the “new normal” not only for Brazil but for most of the world. Storms are already the main reason for a declarations of a catastrophe or a state of emergency in Brazilian municipalities.
Commenting on the succession of extreme weather events, Marcio Astrini, Executive Secretary of the Climate Observatory, noted that these were not characteristic of Brazil alone.
“We are seeing this continuously in Brazil and around the world as well. In the last few years, one-third of Pakistan was completely submerged by record floods. During the same period, between Ethiopia and Kenya, there was record drought. So, we are already seeing a pattern of extreme weather that, in Brazil, is bringing some moments of drought but also heavy rainfall,” he explained.
Unprepared cities
A study by the National Confederation of Municipalities (CNM) has revealed some alarming statistics about the readiness of cities to face extreme events. Only two out of every 10 municipalities in Brazil have made preparations to deal with the effects of climate change.
According to Claudia Lins, CNM’s Sustainability Manager, the main bottleneck is the lack of technical and financial capacity of governments to prepare cities:
“We need to think about adaptation at the grassroots level, but we also need to act in prevention. The data from this research also revealed that 68% of municipalities reported never receiving any resources from states or the federal government to act on climate change prevention.”
Aside from a lack of preparedness, cities are also suffering economic losses. A report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shows that extreme events caused by climate change are damaging Brazil’s infrastructure and compromising the country’s growth. The OECD cites a 2021 World Bank study stating that climate change costs 1.3% of the Gross Domestic Product annually for the country’s businesses.
