Skip linksSkip to Content
play
Live
Navigation menu
  • News
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • US & Canada
    • Latin America
    • Europe
    • Asia Pacific
  • Middle East
  • Explained
  • Opinion
  • Sport
  • Video
    • Features
    • Economy
    • Human Rights
    • Climate Crisis
    • Investigations
    • Interactives
    • In Pictures
    • Science & Technology
    • Podcasts
play
Live

In Pictures

Gallery|Floods

Photos: Flooding in Brazil leaves at least 31 dead and 2,300 homeless

Many victims were in houses that were washed away, trapped in cars or shocked by electrical wires.

Flooding in southern Brazil leaves at least 31 dead, 2300 homeless
A view of buildings destroyed by the floods caused by a deadly extratropical cyclone in Roca Sales, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. [Wesley Santos/AP Photo]
Published On 7 Sep 20237 Sep 2023
facebooktwitterwhatsappcopylink

Flooding following a cyclone in southern Brazil has washed away houses, trapped motorists in vehicles and swamped streets in several cities, killing at least 31 people and leaving 2,300 homeless.

More than 60 cities have been battered since Monday night by the storm, which has been Rio Grande do Sul state’s deadliest, Governor Eduardo Leite said.

“The fly-over we just did, shows the dimension of an absolutely out of the ordinary event,” Leite said in a video posted on the state’s social media accounts. “It wasn’t just riverside communities that were hit, but entire cities that were completely compromised.”

Videos shot by rescue teams on Tuesday had shown some families on the top of their houses pleading for help as rivers overflowed their banks. Some areas were entirely cut off after wide avenues turned into fast-moving rivers.

In Mucum, a city of about 50,000 residents, rescuers found 15 bodies in a single house. Once the storm had passed, residents discovered a trail of destruction along the river with most buildings swept away down to the ground level. Images showed a sheep hanging from an electrical line – an indication of how high the water had risen.

“The water arrived very fast, it was rising two metres (6.5 feet) an hour,” Mucum resident Marcos Antonio Gomes said, standing on top of a pile of debris. “We have nothing left. Not even clothes.”

Flooding in southern Brazil leaves at least 31 dead, 2300 homeless
Marcos Gomes, second from right, searches for belongings at the site of his destroyed home after floods caused by a cyclone in Mucum. [Wesley Santos/AP Photo]
Advertisement
Flooding in southern Brazil leaves at least 31 dead, 2300 homeless
Francisco Fabiano Rodrigues and his children stand outside their home on a street flooded by the rise of the Negro river in Iranduba, Amazonas state. [Edmar Barros/AP Photo]
Flooding in southern Brazil leaves at least 31 dead, 2300 homeless
View of vehicles destroyed by the floods caused by a deadly extratropical cyclone in Roca Sales. [Wesley Santos/AP Photo]
Flooding in southern Brazil leaves at least 31 dead, 2300 homeless
Gomes, a 55-year-old businessman, said it was the fourth time in 15 years that his house was damaged by floods. He said this one was the worst, and he expects more flooding in the future. [Wesley Santos/AP Photo]
Flooding in southern Brazil leaves at least 31 dead, 2300 homeless
'There's no way we can live here. This will come back. We have to abandon [this place],' Gomes said. [Wesley Santos/AP Photo]
Flooding in southern Brazil leaves at least 31 dead, 2300 homeless
Firefighters and volunteers work at the site of destroyed homes after a deadly cyclone hit Mucum in Rio Grande do Sul state. [Wesley Santos/AP Photo]
Advertisement
Flooding in southern Brazil leaves at least 31 dead, 2300 homeless
Search and rescue teams have focused on the Taquari Valley, about 150km (30 miles) northwest of the state capital, Porto Alegre, where most of the victims and damage were recorded. But those efforts expanded farther west on Wednesday morning, with helicopters sent to the Rio Pardo Valley. [Wesley Santos/AP Photo]
Flooding in southern Brazil leaves at least 31 dead, 2300 homeless
Many of the victims died from electrical shock, or were trapped in vehicles, the G1 news website reported. One woman died as she was swept away during a rescue attempt. [Wesley Santos/AP Photo]
Flooding in southern Brazil leaves at least 31 dead, 2300 homeless
Rio Grande do Sul was hit by another cyclone in June, which killed 16 people and caused destruction in 40 cities, many of those around Porto Alegre. [Wesley Santos/AP Photo]


    • About Us
    • Code of Ethics
    • Terms and Conditions
    • EU/EEA Regulatory Notice
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Cookie Preferences
    • Sitemap
    • Work for us
    • Contact Us
    • User Accounts Help
    • Advertise with us
    • Stay Connected
    • Newsletters
    • Channel Finder
    • TV Schedule
    • Podcasts
    • Submit a Tip
    • Al Jazeera Arabic
    • Al Jazeera English
    • Al Jazeera Investigative Unit
    • Al Jazeera Mubasher
    • Al Jazeera Documentary
    • Al Jazeera Balkans
    • AJ+
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Studies
    • Al Jazeera Media Institute
    • Learn Arabic
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights
    • Al Jazeera Forum
    • Al Jazeera Hotel Partners

Follow Al Jazeera English:

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • instagram-colored-outline
  • rss
Al Jazeera Media Network logo
© 2025 Al Jazeera Media Network