Severe flooding in Porto Alegre, Brazil, disproportionately impacted the city's Black residents, exacerbating existing inequalities and causing widespread displacement and damage. In short:Torrential rains flooded Marcelo Moreira Ferreira’s home in Porto Alegre, forcing him and his family to evacuate. Research shows the hardest-hit areas have a high proportion of Afro-Brazilian residents, highlighting systemic inequality. Key quote:“I’m afraid the water will rise again, but we came back because it’s the only place we have.”— Marcelo Moreira Ferreira, residentWhy this matters:Flooding in Porto Alegre reveals deep-seated racial and socio-economic disparities, with Black communities facing the harshest consequences. Rising global temperatures and altered precipitation patterns are contributing to more extreme and unpredictable weather, posing a growing threat to vulnerable populations.

Source: The Guardian June 17, 2024 17:01 UTC