São Paulo, Brazil – Heavy rains have battered southern Brazil for nearly a month. So far, 157 people have died, 94 are missing and 806 more have been injured in Rio Grande do Sul, the country's southernmost state. Authorities say that 616,000 are still homeless.
It is the largest natural disaster in the state's modern history, with entire cities underwater, including many parts of its capital, Porto Alegre. The city, home to 1.5 million people, sits on the eastern bank of Lake Guaíba, which overflowed its banks and flooded the city amid heavy rainfall in May.
