Brazil breaks record for natural disasters in 2023

Brazil has broken the record for the number of environmental disasters in 2023: experts counted 1161. This is reported by Prensa Latina, a partner of TV BRICS, citing a study by the National Centre for Monitoring and Warning of Natural Disasters (Cemaden).

The service, affiliated to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, specifies in its report that 716 of these were of hydrological origin (such as river overflows) and 445 were of geological origin (landslides).

Regarding disaster risk notifications, the centre sent 3,425 warnings to municipalities during the year. 2023 ranks third in terms of the number of reports received on the possibility of natural hazards.

Cemaden continuously monitors 1,038 municipalities, home to 55 per cent of the country's population.

In the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, 143 people died and 125 were reported missing in late April and early May 2024 due to heavy rains and storms. More than 1.4 million people were affected and 121,000 were left homeless. The disaster affected 345 municipalities.