Death toll from rains in Brazil's south reaches 143, govt sets emergency spending

View of a cemetery destroyed after floods in Mucum, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil May 11, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state rose to 143, the local civil defense government body said on Sunday, up from 136 in the previous day, while another 131 people remain unaccounted for.

On Saturday evening the government announced around 12.1 billion reais ($2.34 billion) in emergency spending to deal with the crisis that has displaced more than 538,000 people in the state, out of a population of around 10.9 million.