2 years ago
552
(CNN)The decease toll from floods and dense rain, which has blighted the Brazilian authorities of Bahia since November, roseate to 20 aft flooding intensified implicit the weekend, causing two dams to burst and the displacement of an estimated 62,800 people, authorities officials say.
At slightest 358 radical person been injured successful the flooding, the Bahia authorities authorities said successful a Monday statement. It has affected much than 470,000 radical surviving successful 116 towns.
"The infrastructure harm is enormous," Bahia authorities Gov. Rui Costa said Tuesday, arsenic images of the affected country showed radical salvaging belongings from their flood-hit homes.
Costa warned of a "perfect storm" caused by the catastrophic effects of the flooding amid a two-pronged pandemic.
"We person the earthy catastrophe and we person 2 pandemics happening astatine the aforesaid time: The coronavirus pandemic and the flu microorganism -- which person affected the full country," helium said.
Critical Covid-19 medicines and vaccines has been destroyed successful flood-stricken cities and municipalities, specified arsenic Jucuruçu and Itororó, Costa said.
"In immoderate places, 100% of each medicines and vaccines were mislaid due to the fact that immoderate of the municipal wellness secretariats and their medicine depots were near wholly underwater," helium said.
The Duas Ilhas dam ruptured successful the metropolis of Jussiape connected Sunday, filling up already swollen rivers and flooding surrounding areas. A time after, a dam successful the metropolis of Itambé -- besides successful Bahia -- gave way.
Jussiape Mayor Eder Aguiar blamed clime alteration for the devastation. "We cognize rainfall tin beryllium seen arsenic a blessing from God but that owed to the ecological imbalance that we, quality beings, person caused, determination tin beryllium excessively overmuch of it, causing superior damage," Aguiar said.
Costa said Sunday that the standard of flooding was similar thing helium had seen successful Bahia's caller past "given the magnitude of cities and houses involved. It's genuinely terrifying, determination are truthful galore houses and streets that are wholly nether water."
On Monday, Costa traveled to Itororó, wherever the archetypal 2 floors of the mayor's bureau analyzable were "completely flooded, and their wellness halfway had mislaid each its vaccines," helium said.
The biggest precedence is to present restock urgently-needed vaccines, medicines "and supplies indispensable to supply aesculapian care," helium told reporters connected Tuesday.
Costa added that the afloat grade of the harm is "enormous" but could not beryllium calculated afloat until the h2o recedes.
"We inactive don't person that data," Costa said. "We inactive don't cognize however galore roads we request to recover, however galore bridges we request to rebuild."
The politician said that aggregate places successful Bahia resembled the aftermath of an aerial onslaught -- oregon war.
"The feeling, from the images we person of respective places, is that of being the victims of a ample aerial strike, arsenic if we're successful the mediate of a warfare and respective things had been destroyed," helium said.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is presently connected abrogation successful the confederate authorities of Santa Catarina, said successful a tweet Tuesday that helium has approved 200 cardinal Reais (around $35 million) successful recognition for "the reconstruction of roadworthy infrastructure damaged by rainfall successful the states of Bahia (most affected), Amazonas, Minas Gerais, Pará and São Paulo."
CNN's Flora Charner and Susannah Cullinane contributed to this report.
English (US) ·