Climate-Change: Floods kills over 20 in Brazil, thousands displaced

Local officials announced on Monday that at least 20 people had died in floods in northeastern Brazil, as the region prepared for additional rain.

Weeks of irregular flooding in Bahia state, home to around 15 million people, have increased in the last two days after a two dams broke, forcing residents to flee.

"Unfortunately, we're experiencing the worst tragedy in Bahia's history," the state's governor, Rui Costa, said on Twitter on Monday, adding that 72 municipalities in the state are in a state of emergency.

According to the governor, rescue teams are attempting to transfer supplies and provide medical attention to victims, but damage to bridges and roadways has made this more difficult.

Over the weekend, two dams in the cities of Jussiape and Itambe fell.

Residents have been rescued from their homes by rescue workers in small dinghies patrolling the city of Itabuna, including some who escaped via second-floor windows.

On Monday, Manfredo Santana, a spokesman for Bahia's firefighting corps, told Reuters that emergency personnel had rescued 200 people in three municipalities. Rescue efforts were hampered by the swollen Cachoeira River's strong currents.

"Even with jet skis, it's impossible to manoeuvre," he remarked. "At times, the rescue crews had to retreat."

On Monday afternoon, Bahia's civil defence office said that 20 people had died as a result of the flooding in 11 different communities.

More than 16,000 people had been displaced by the floodwaters, according to the state authorities.

Costa blamed the tumultuous scenes on "errors that have been committed over the course of years" in broadcast remarks.

Authorities are monitoring an additional 10 dams for any symptoms of collapse, according to the newspaper O Globo, quoting a state firefighting official.

The examination of public infrastructure and urban planning comes just a few years after 270 people were killed when a mining dam in neighbouring Minas Gerais state collapsed.

To assist in the disaster response, a government task force made up of military firemen and police has been established in the worst-affected parts of Bahia.

Weather officials in Salvador, the state capital, said that December rainfall was six times more than typical.

The torrential rains coincide with La Nina, a weather phenomenon that happens every three to five years and causes Pacific Ocean temperatures to be colder than usual.