Death toll in Brazil flooding tops 100
The record rainfall is linked to El Niño, which has been exacerbated by climate change


What happened
At least 105 people have died and 130 are missing as devastating floods ravage southern Brazil. An estimated 160,000 people have been left homeless in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The Guaíba River rose over 16 feet in the state capital, Porto Alegre, and flights have been canceled from the city's flooded airport through the end of the month.
Who said what
"The emergency is continuing to develop" and "it's not time to go home," said Rio Grande do Sul Gov. Eduardo Leite. "It seems like we're living through the end of the world," said nursing technician Beatriz Belmontt Abel to The New York Times.
Climate experts said the extreme rainfall in southern Brazil, and the concurrent drought in Brazil's Amazon, was tied to the cyclical El Niño phenomenon exacerbated by climate change, deforestation and unplanned urban growth.
What next?
Soldiers, volunteers and emergency workers are delivering aid and searching for people in need of rescue, but "authorities worried that the crisis could worsen because another wave of severe weather was expected in coming days," the Times said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
4 ways to cover unexpected home repairs
The Explainer Home is where the heart is — but it might cost you
-
Why is Trump attacking Intel's CEO?
Today's Big Question Concerns about Lip-Bu Tan's Chinese connections
-
One great cookbook: 'Salt to Taste'
The Week Recommends Your roadmap to satisfying Italian home cooking
-
Acid rain is back: the sequel nobody wanted
Under The Radar A 'forever chemical' in rainwater is reviving a largely forgotten environmental issue
-
Why is the world so divided over plastics?
Today's Big Question UN negotiations on first global plastic treaty are at stake, as fossil fuel companies, petrostates and plastic industry work to resist a legal cap on production
-
Tuvalu is being lost to climate change. Other countries will likely follow.
Under the Radar Sea level rise is putting islands underwater
-
Massive earthquake sends tsunami across Pacific
Speed Read Hundreds of thousands of people in Japan and Hawaii were told to evacuate to higher ground
-
FEMA Urban Search and Rescue chief resigns
Speed Read Ken Pagurek has left the organization, citing 'chaos'
-
Melting glaciers may lead to more volcanic eruptions
Under the radar We're in for a boom
-
Wildfires destroy historic Grand Canyon lodge
Speed Read Dozens of structures on the North Rim have succumbed to the Dragon Bravo Fire
-
Europe's heatwave: the new front line of climate change
In the Spotlight How will the continent adapt to 'bearing the brunt of climate change'?