RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Massive floods in Brazil’s southern Rio Grande do Sul state have killed at least 75 people over the last seven days, and another 103 were reported missing, local authorities said Sunday.
At least 155 people were injured, while damage from the rains forced more than 88,000 people from their homes. Approximately 16,000 took refuge in schools, gymnasiums and other temporary shelters.
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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Massive floods in Brazil’s southern Rio Grande do Sul state have killed at least 75 people over the last seven days, and another 103 were reported missing, local authorities said Sunday.
Residents evacuate from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains, in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Macedo)
A soldier helps a woman evacuate from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains, in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Macedo)
People evacuate on a surfboard from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains, in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Macedo)
Residents evacuate from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains, in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Macedo)
The floods left a wake of devastation, including landslides, washed-out roads and collapsed bridges across the state. Operators reported electricity and communications cuts. More than 800,000 people are without a water supply, according to the civil defense agency, which cited figures from water company Corsan.
A rescue team pulled an elderly man in serious medical condition into a helicopter from a remote area in the Bento Gonçalves municipality, according to footage from military firefighters. Torrents of brown water poured over a nearby dam.
On Saturday evening, residents in the town of Canoas stood up to their shoulders in muddy water and formed a human chain to pull boats carrying people to safety, according to video footage shared by local UOL news network.
The Guaiba river reached a record level of 5.33 meters (17.5 feet) on Sunday morning at 8 a.m. local time, surpassing levels seen during a historic 1941 deluge, when the river reached 4.76 meters.
“I repeat and insist: the devastation to which we are being subjected is unprecedented,” state Gov. Eduardo Leite said Sunday morning. He had previously said the state will need a “kind of ‘Marshall Plan’ to be rebuilt.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited Rio Grande do Sul for a second time on Sunday, accompanied by Defense Minister José Múcio, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad and Environment Minister Marina Silva, among others. The leftist leader and his team surveyed the flooded streets of Porto Alegre from a helicopter.
“We need to stop running behind disasters. We need to see in advance what calamities might happen and we need to work,” Lula told journalists afterwards.
During Sunday mass at the Vatican, Pope Francis said he was praying for the state’s population. “May the Lord welcome the dead and comfort their families and those who had to abandon their homes,” he said.
The downpour started Monday and was expected to last through Sunday. In some areas, such as valleys, mountain slopes and cities, more than 300 millimeters (11.8 inches) of rain fell in less than a week, according to Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology, known by the Portuguese acronym INMET, on Thursday.
The heavy rains were the fourth such environmental disaster in the state in a year, following floods in July, September and November 2023 that killed 75 people.
Weather across South America is affected by the climate phenomenon El Niño, a periodic, naturally occurring event that warms surface waters in the Equatorial Pacific region. In Brazil, El Niño has historically caused droughts in the north and intense rainfall in the south.
This year, the impacts of El Niño have been particularly dramatic, with a historic drought in the Amazon. Scientists say extreme weather is happening more frequently due to human-caused climate change.
“These tragedies will continue to happen, increasingly worse and more frequent,” said Suely Araújo, a public policy coordinator at the Climate Observatory, a network of dozens of environmental and social groups.
Brazil needs to adjust to the effects of climate change, she said in a Friday statement, referring to a process known as adaptation.
Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
Residents evacuate from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains, in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Macedo)
Residents evacuate from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains, in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Macedo)
A soldier helps a woman evacuate from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains, in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Macedo)
People evacuate on a surfboard from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains, in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Macedo)
Residents evacuate from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains, in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Macedo)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler’s arrest and prompt release from a Louisville jail Friday that let him play in a high-profile tournament after being booked on charges including felony assault has sparked questions over whether he was given preferential treatment because of his fame.
Some social media users raised the issue of malfeasance by the Louisville police department, which a national report last year found has used excessive force and invalid search warrants.
Police are continuing their investigation, but here's a look at the incident and policing in Louisville:
Officers were redirecting traffic after a fatal accident near the Valhalla Golf Club when Scheffler allegedly disobeyed an officer's command. His car accelerated forward and dragged the officer to the ground, according to a police report, and the officer suffered injuries to his wrist and was taken to the hospital.
The 27-year-old Scheffler, who lives in Texas, was arrested outside the club just after 6 a.m., taken to jail, dressed in an orange jumpsuit and had his mug shot taken. The Louisville Metro Police Department said he was booked on four charges, including second-degree assault of a police officer.
But by 10:08 a.m., he was on the other side of the city and teeing off at the PGA Championship. Scheffler had been released on his own recognizance, without posting bond, after agreeing that he would make all his court dates in Louisville.
Scheffler and his attorney have said he didn't intentionally do anything wrong, and he misunderstood police commands and simply was trying to get to the course. His lawyer previously represented the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by police in 2020, in a civil suit against the city a few years ago.
Scheffler was greeted with cheers by fans when he arrived at the golf course, but some in Louisville with memories of a turbulent past took a dim view of the incident.
“A man drags a cop with his vehicle and hospitalizes him. He’s arrested ... charged with a felony ... and then immediately released so he can make his tee time? Did I get that right?” said Ricky L. Jones, a University of Louisville professor of pan-African studies, on the social platform X.
Bill Miller, a local golf fan who was at the course Friday, said it cast Louisville and the police in a negative light.
“It’s just another bad look for the city,” Miller said. “I’d want to understand what the cop was trying to do. But it’s sad.”
A spokesperson for Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Saturday there is no police body camera video of the initial encounter between Scheffler and the officer. The officer was directing traffic at the time, and the department’s officers typically don’t record video with their body cameras while directing traffic, Kevin Trager, the mayor’s press secretary, wrote in a text message to an Associated Press reporter.
Elsewhere, the incident drew reaction from an Atlanta-area pastor who hosted a funeral for Roger Fortson, a young Black senior airman who was shot by a Florida sheriff’s deputy at his home this month.
“Something is wrong in America,” said Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. “You have respect for a golfer, but you don’t have respect for (Fortson) and for a person who has given their life to this nation. You cannot remain silent in the face of injustice.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear took heat on X for a post encouraging people to welcome golf tournament fans “with the kindness and hospitality we’re known for.” One commenter replied with Scheffler's mug shot and observed that Beshear's post had not aged well.
The department has attracted negative national attention in recent years after the fatal shooting of Taylor in 2020 and a federal investigation into its policing practices. It has also been the subject of protests over its policing.
A Department of Justice report released last year said Louisville officers use excessive force and conduct searches based on invalid warrants. It also said Black motorists in the city were more likely to be searched during traffic stops, and officers used neck restraints, police dogs and stun guns against people who posed no imminent threat.
Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was shot by officers who came to her apartment with a warrant that federal officials later said was falsified.
The police department was lauded, however, for its response to a mass shooting at a bank in 2023, when the shooter armed with an AR-15 was quickly killed before he could hurt more people. One officer who had just joined the force was struck in the head by a bullet, sustaining a brain injury.
Last year the department hired as its new police chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel, the first Black woman to hold the position. The city continues to negotiate a consent decree with federal officials that will stipulate what policing reforms should take place.
Associated Press Writers Aaron Morrison in New York and Eddie Pells in Louisville contributed to this report.
In this still image made from video provided by ESPN, Masters champion Scottie Scheffler is put into a police car after being handcuffed near Valhalla Golf Club, site of the PGA Championship golf tournament, early Friday, May 17, 2024. (ESPN via AP)
In this mug shot provided by the Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections Friday, May 17, 2024, Scott Scheffler is shown. Masters champion Scottie Scheffler was detained by police Friday morning on his way to the PGA Championship, with stunning images showing him handcuffed as he was led to a police car. (Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections via AP)
Scottie Scheffler walks to the tee on the 11th hole during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Friday, May 17, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Scottie Scheffler celebrates after a birdie on the 12th hole during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Friday, May 17, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
