Brazil
Severe flooding has displaced many tens of thousands of people in northern and north eastern Brazil and killed dozens of others.
Weeks of torrential rain have affected several Brazilian states, especially the ones in the semi-arid region, leading to at least 200,000 people becoming homeless.
Some of the worst affected states were Pará, Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará and Paraíba, which are among the poorest in the country.
Tearfund’s Country Representative for Brazil, João Martinez da Cruz, said, ‘The recent torrential rains were a real surprise to the local people. Temperatures are always high and it normally only rains for a few months during the year.’
Tearfund partner ACEV (Evangelical Action) reports in recent weeks many houses were practically submerged by water in a neighbourhood of Patos, the town where they are based in the state of Paraíba.
Sacha Medcraft from ACEV, said, ‘The rescue services could not cope with the demands and we had to mobilise a large number of volunteers to help out. In three hours, it rained more than in four months.’
ACEV has mobilised local church volunteers and members of the community to help provide basic provisions for those forced from their properties.
Other regions of the country have been severely affected by floods in recent months, especially the states of Santa Catarina in the south, São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro in the south east.
- Please pray for the rains to ease and the flood waters to relent.
- Pray for the Brazilian government and local authorities to effectively coordinate rescue and disaster relief efforts.
- Pray for Tearfund partner ACEV and local churches as they help affected people.