Brazilian Amazon suffers worst drought in decades

Just a few months after facing floods that destroyed crops and submerged entire communities, thousands of families in the Brazilian Amazon are now dealing with a severe drought that, at least in some areas, is the worst in decades.

The low level of the Amazon River, at the center of the world’s largest drainage system, has alerted dozens of municipalities.

The rapid decrease in the river’s water level is due to lower-than-expected rainfall during August and September, according to Luna Gripp, a geoscience researcher who monitors river levels in the western Amazon for the Brazilian Geological Survey.

Since most of the state of Amazonas is not connected by roads, the main concern is shortages of food, fuel, and other goods normally transported by river.

In Tefe, a city of 60,000 inhabitants on the banks of the Amazon River, large ships have been unable to reach the downtown port.

The situation is even more critical in the dozens of communities scattered in the region around Tefe, affecting some 3,500 families.

Many water courses, such as lakes and streams, have dried up, eliminating access to the Amazon River and, therefore, to nearby towns that function as commercial hubs.

In the community of São Estevão, fishermen have postponed fishing for pirarucu, the largest fish in the Amazon, because the boat to transport the catch to the city cannot dock. The legal fishing season runs until the end of November.

If the water level doesn’t rise soon, the community of seven families will lose a significant source of income; fisherman Pedro Canizio da Silva told the Associated Press agency in an audio message.

About six months ago, the community suffered losses due to a stronger-than-expected flood season.

“I lost my banana and cassava crops. Also, alligators and anacondas came near us after the flood and ate some of my ducks and chickens. The water under my house on stilts almost reached the ground,” Canizio recalled.

In the indigenous community Porto Praia, the nearby branch of the Amazon River has become a vast strip of sand that, during the day, is too hot to cross.

A speedboat ride to Tefe, which normally takes 90 minutes, now takes four hours as the water is so shallow in some stretches that it is necessary to row instead of using the motor, said Anilton Braz, a local leader.

The local water source has become muddy and there are no alternatives.

“We fear that our children will get sick with diarrhea and other diseases,” Braz said.

The situation has prompted the Tefe municipality to declare a state of emergency to speed up the provision of aid to families, but so far aid has been scarce.

The local civil defense authority said that 53 of 62 municipalities have been affected by floods and drought in the state of Amazonas this year alone. The driest season, known locally as the “Amazonian summer,” usually lasts from June to December in this part of the rainforest.

The severity of drought varies in a region as vast as the Amazon.

In Porto Velho, capital of the state of Rondonia, the mighty Madeira River recorded its lowest level since official records began in 1998.

And in the capital of the state of Acre, Rio Branco, the Acre River, which cuts through the city, has reached its lowest level since measurements began in 1967, according to the Brazilian Geological Service.

The Amazon River drought is not as extreme so far, although Coari, a city near Tefe, is facing its sixth worst drought since records began in 1975.