Rains persist in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul

Downpours that began flooding Brazil's heavily agricultural Rio Grande do Sul in late April persisted over the weekend, continuing to wreak havoc in the state.

Rains reached an accumulated 123mm (4.8 inches) on 10-12 May in state capital Porto Alegre, according to Brazil's national meteorological institute Inmet. Some areas experienced around 80mm of rain on 12 May alone, according to US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Showers in Porto Alegre have reached an accumulated 502mm in May already, according to Brazilian meteorological firm Climatempo. The monthly average is of 111mm.

River and lake levels also kept rising. The Guaiba lake, in the state's capital, reached 4.9m (16ft) on Monday morning — up from 4.8m on 10 May, according to the state government. It is considered in a flood stage once it reaches 3m.

Most rivers in the state, such as the Gravatai, Taquari and Uruguai, are also above flood levels.

A bridge over the Cai River, which links Nova Petropolis and Caxias do Sul cities, broke partially on Sunday. As a result, a stretch of the BR-116 highway is closed, according to the national department of transport infrastructure. The river's levels are 6m above normal.

Brazil's national center for natural disaster monitoring and alerts still considers the risk of "new hydrological occurrences" to be "very high" in Rio Grande do Sul and neighboring Santa Catarina state.

The extreme weather has left 147 dead and 127 missing, according to the civil defense. Over 538,000 people are displaced.

By Lucas Parolin