Brazil's Lula seeks spending waiver for rain-ravaged Southern state where 85 have died

A drone view shows the flooded Arena Gremio stadium in Porto Alegre, in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, May 6, 2024. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

CANOAS, Brazil (Reuters) -Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva asked Congress on Monday to recognize a state of public calamity for the heavy rains that have killed at least 85 people in the country's southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul.

More than 130 people are still missing after flooding that has affected more than two-thirds of the nearly 500 cities in the state, leaving about 150,000 people displaced, the state civil defense authority said.