In southern Brazil, the state of Rio Grande do Sul experienced the most devastating natural disaster in its history. Beginning in early May 2024, weeks of relentless rainfall caused rivers to overflow across the state, inundating cities, rural communities, and entire neighborhoods.
Nearly 90 percent of Rio Grande do Sul was affected, leaving millions of people facing the loss of their homes, livelihoods, and loved ones.
The floods were not an isolated event. They occurred amid a series of increasingly severe climate-related disasters that have struck Brazil in recent years. Scientists have pointed to climate change as a key factor intensifying extreme weather events, making episodes of heavy rainfall more frequent and more destructive.
In just two weeks, parts of Rio Grande do Sul received the equivalent of three months of rainfall. Entire towns disappeared beneath the water, including large areas of Porto Alegre, the state's capital and home to 1.4 million people.
Roads collapsed, bridges were swept away, and countless communities became inaccessible, complicating rescue efforts and the delivery of food, water, and medical assistance.
The disaster affected an estimated 1.9 million people. At least 171 lives were lost, while more than 340,000 residents were forced from their homes. Long after the floodwaters receded, the destruction remained visible in collapsed buildings, mud-filled streets, and neighborhoods struggling to recover.
This essay was produced while accompanying both the Brazilian Armed Forces during relief operations and members of the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB) - The grassroots organization that coordinates humanitarian aid and advocates for the rights of communities affected by climate disasters.
Many of the photographs were made one year after the floods, revealing a reality that had largely disappeared from the headlines. Despite the wave of donations, public promises, and reconstruction plans announced in the months following the disaster, many communities remained abandoned, with little evidence of meaningful recovery.
Entire neighborhoods had become ghost towns. Houses stood empty or in ruins, businesses never reopened, and thousands of families were unable to return to the lives they had built over decades.
For many residents, the flood did not simply destroy property—it permanently erased places of memory, work, and community.
In many towns, life as it once existed never returned.
This project was screened at the Visa Pour L'Image
international fesival of Photography
- France, September 2024 -
"Rio Grande do Sul underwater" - Visa Pour L'image