Brazil flooding death toll surpasses 100

Some 400 municipalities have been affected by the worst natural calamity everto hit the state of Rio Grande do Sul, with hundreds of people injured andmore than 160,000 forced from their homes.
Many have no access to drinking water or electricity -- or even the means tocall for help, with telephone and internet services down in many places, reports BSS.
On Tuesday, state governor Eduardo Leite had warned the human toll was likelyto rise as "the emergency is continuing to develop" in the state capital ofPorto Alegre and other cities and towns.
Some 15,000 soldiers, firefighters, police and volunteers were at work acrossthe state, many in boats and jet skis, to rescue those trapped and transportaid.
But in Porto Alegre the rains returned on Wednesday, halting evacuationefforts.
The mayor's office urged rescue boats to suspend their activities, citing therisk of electric shocks from lightning and strong winds of over 80 kilometers(50 miles) per hour.
Authorities urged people not to return to affected areas due to possiblelandslide and health hazards.
"Contaminated water can transmit diseases," civil defense spokeswoman SabrinaRibas warned on Wednesday.
Many people have been loath to leave their homes for the safety of sheltersamid reports of abandoned properties being looted.
The National Confederation of Municipalities said about 61,000 homes -- downfrom an earlier estimate of 100,000 -- had been damaged or destroyed byunprecedented rains and floods in the state, with losses estimated at about6.3 billion reais (some $1.2 billion.)
Damage to schools, hospitals and municipal buildings amounted to about $69million.
Porto Alegre is home to about 1.4 million people and the larger metropolitanarea has more than double that number.
The state's Guaiba River, which runs through Porto Alegre, reached historiclevels and five dams are at risk of rupturing, with two of them in "imminent"danger.
- 'A parallel universe' -
There were queues at public taps and wells as officials warned that the mosturgent need for people stranded by impassable roads, collapsed bridges andflooded homes was drinking water.
Only two of Porto Alegre's six water treatment plants were functioning, themayor's office said Tuesday, and hospitals and shelters were being suppliedby tankers.
Helicopters were delivering water and food to communities most in need, whilework continued on restoring road access.
The Brazilian Navy was to send its "Atlantic" vessel -- Latin America'slargest -- to Rio Grande do Sul on Wednesday with two mobile water treatmentstations.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has vowed there would be "no lack ofresourcesto meet the needs of Rio Grande do Sul."
In Gasometro, a part of Porto Alegre popular with tourists, the watercontinued to rise Wednesday, complicating rescue efforts.
"You can only cross on foot or by boat. There is no other way," 30-year-oldresident Luan Pas told AFP next to a street turned into a stagnant, smellyriver.
Operations at the port of Porto Alegre have been suspended and itsinternational airport indefinitely closed.
The Air Force said the military base outside town will receive commercialflights transporting aid and passengers.
In a rare dry spot in Porto Alegre's historic center, dozens of peoplegathered around a generator rented by a pharmacy on Wednesday to charge theircell phones.
"This is a parallel universe," said one of them, university professor Danielada Silva, 30.The Inmet meteorological institute has warned of more storms with heavy rainsand winds in the south of the state and downpours over the weekend in thePorto Alegre region.
Due to climate change, extreme or rare events "are becoming more frequent andmore extreme," Jose Marengo, research coordinator at Brazil's National Centerfor Natural Disaster Monitoring (Cemaden), told AFP.
The federal government, meanwhile, said it would import 200,000 tons of riceto guarantee supplies and preempt price speculation. The flooded regionsupplies more than two-thirds of the rice consumed in Brazil.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres extended his condolences in a statementto the people of Brazil, saying that "disasters such as this are a reminderof the devastating effects of the climate crisis on lives and livelihoods."