Heavy rains in the northern Brazilian state of Acre already affect more than 40,000 people, with more than 3,800 displaced in the capital Rio Branco, the Civil Defense reported Thursday.
The Acre River reached the 17.22-meter mark Thursday morning, the highest level since the historic flood of 2015 when it reached 18.40 meters.
The river’s alert level is 13.50 meters; above 14 meters, it is considered flooding.
Although the river level stabilized in the afternoon, the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) maintains an orange alert of heavy rains for all of Acre, valid until 10 am this Friday.
Six municipalities of Acre are in an emergency situation: Rio Branco, Assis Brasil, Brasiléia, Epitaciolandia, Xapuri, and Sena Madureira.
On Sunday, the Ministers of Integration and Regional Development, Waldez Góes, and of Environment, Marina Silva, and the National Secretary of Civil Defense, Wolnei Wolff, arrived in Acre to fly over the flooded areas.
The Federal Government announced over the weekend the disbursement of R$ 1.4 million (US$ 275 thousand) to help the victims of the floods in Acre.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Health sent first-aid kits with 32 types of medicines and supplies and technical support teams this week to attend to the emergency situation in the state.
Acre is a state in the Amazon region with an estimated population of about 925,000 people, one of the least densely populated in the South American country. It borders Bolivia to the southeast and Peru to the south and west.
In addition to Acre, heavy rains also affect other states in Brazil’s northern region, such as Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Tocantins, and Maranhao.
At this moment, Brazil has 1613 municipalities with official recognition of emergency situation due to catastrophes, according to data released on Thursday by the Ministry of Integration and Regional Development.