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Flooded Brazil 'ghost town' an environment warning to world, UN consultant says

Record floods that eliminated over 170 people and displaced half a million in southern Brazil are an indication of more catastrophes to come throughout the Americas due to the fact that of climate modification, an official at the United Nations' refugee firm stated on Tuesday.

Roughly 389,000 people in the state of Rio Grande do Sul remain displaced from their homes due to the fact that of the extreme rain and flooding, which regional authorities state was the worst catastrophe in the area's history. Researchers say climate change made the flooding two times as most likely to take place.

Andrew Harper, unique consultant on climate action to the refugee company UNHCR, checked out a flooded area in state capital Porto Alegre over the weekend and called it a ghost town.

It was undersea for nearly 40 days. There wasn't even any rats running around. Everything had passed away, Harper said in an interview on Tuesday.

Even after the flood waters decreased, homeowners have not returned to the community where streets are stacked high with water-logged garbage and particles. Many are still living in shelters, including Venezuelan refugees who had actually resettled in Porto Alegre.

UNHCR is assisting the local government to develop momentary real estate.

Homeowners of some tough hit locations may never return, having been forced to move by duplicated flooding, Harper stated. However how many would become so-called environment migrants will just be known years after the catastrophe.

The floods exceeded all expectations that regional authorities had for climate disasters, and governments require to do more to prepare for these occasions, Harper stated.

We're seeing the emergence in Brazil of what we may be seeing throughout the Americas. So to disregard this, they do it at their own danger, Harper stated.

Governments need to understand where the people most vulnerable to climate modification live, like the neighborhood he checked out in Porto Alegre, and consist of those individuals in their environment strategies, he said.

It's a caution signal, however we've been seeing warning signals now for 5, ten years, Harper included. At what point do you essentially have to slap somebody in the face and say, ' Get up, you're not going to neglect this.'.

(source: Reuters)