Rains return to flooded southern Brazil, interrupting rescues

Evacuees ride in a loader after their homes were flooded at Eldorado do Sul, in Rio Grande do Sul Brazil May 7, 2024. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (Reuters) -Authorities interrupted rescue efforts in flood-ravaged southern Brazil on Wednesday amid more rain and the risk of lightning and stiff winds that threaten to exacerbate a catastrophe that has already killed at least 100 people and left over 163,000 seeking shelter.

The floods that began last week, caused by unusually heavy rains, have destroyed highways and bridges in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, which borders Uruguay and Argentina.