The extreme rainfall and flooding that hit the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul has isolated and forced the evacuation of whole cities. Roads have been destroyed, bridges knocked out, and the main airport, in the capital city of Porto Alegre, is indefinitely closed. More than 460 of the state's 497 municipalities have been affected.
Above all is the irreparable human toll: more than 2 million people have been impacted and over 600,000 have been displaced. According to provisional data, more than 150 people have died and about 100 are still unaccounted for. Many people are without water, electricity and basic services. Makeshift shelters are being improvised in many locations to receive people who don't know when or if they will be able to return to their homes. The impact of this disaster is without any precedent in Brazilian history.
“The situation is catastrophic," says MSF medical coordinator Rachel Soeiro. "When we arrived and traveled through the region by helicopter, we were able to view the towns from above and noticed that in some cases we couldn't even see the roofs of houses. There are kilometers and kilometers, and all there is, is water."