Southern Brazil, still rebuilding from record floods, prepares for El Nino

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil, June 19 - Communities rebuilding from devastating floods in southern Brazil two years ago are bracing for an intense El Nino that meteorologists warn could bring extreme rains this year.

In Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul state, rubble from the disaster — including demolished homes from residents who had to flee — sits as a reminder of the worst flooding in Brazil's history, which killed at least 181 people in May 2024.

"People are afraid," said Marilian Fontoura, at her home in Porto Alegre's Sarandi neighborhood. Water stains up to her ceiling show where the floodwaters reached. "If the rain comes again, another downpour, another flood, then what? You'll lose everything all over again."

Despite investments in infrastructure, warning systems and monitoring, Sarandi remains a symbol of the city's vulnerability.

Mayor Sebastiao Melo says the city is safer than it was in 2024 and working "intensely" to repair pumping stations, rebuild dikes and improve floodgates.

This week, Porto Alegre's water and sewage utility selected a consortium to carry out state-financed flood protection works worth about 24.2 million reais ($4.7 million).

"Specifically for El Nino, we are expediting some immediate projects that would have been built later on," Melo said.

Still, resident Fontoura complains of stalled projects. A nearby levee project has been stalled because of expropriation disputes between residents and the city government.

The state government is also battening down the hatches, investing 38 million reais in a logistics center for disaster operations and 33 million reais in an El Nino readiness program to prepare vulnerable municipalities.

There may be little time to spare. Global forecasters say a strong El Nino — the periodic warming of the eastern Pacific that disrupts rainfall around the world — is increasingly likely to develop in the second half of the year.

"What has drawn a great deal of attention is the projected intensity," said meteorologist Estael Sias, who said forecast models suggest this year's El Nino could rank among the strongest recorded since satellite monitoring began. REUTERS