The death toll from floods and heavy rain, which has blighted the Brazilian state of Bahia since November, rose to 20 after flooding intensified over the weekend, causing two dams to burst and the displacement of an estimated 62,800 people, state officials say, CNN reports.
At least 358 people have been injured in the flooding, the Bahia state government said in a Monday statement. It has affected more than 470,000 people living in 116 towns.
"The infrastructure damage is enormous," Bahia state Gov. Rui Costa said Tuesday, as images of the affected area showed people salvaging belongings from their flood-hit homes.
Costa warned of a "perfect storm" caused by the catastrophic effects of the flooding amid a two-pronged pandemic.
"We have the natural disaster and we have two pandemics happening at the same time: The coronavirus pandemic and the flu virus -- which have affected the entire country," he said.
Critical Covid-19 medicines and vaccines has been destroyed in flood-stricken cities and municipalities, such as Jucuruçu and Itororó, Costa said.
