The scale of the tragedy in Rio Grande do Sul is not yet fully known.
The Brazilian state, which is three times the size of Portugal, has been affected by storms and floods for almost a month.
There are officially 161 dead, but 82 people are still missing. It is estimated that many more bodies may turn up during the rescue work.
In the midst of these rescue efforts, another concern arises for the survivors: disease.
The Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul carried out a preliminary analysis of the flood water in Porto Alegre, Eldorado do Sul and Guaíba.
The research gathered 80 water samples during the rescues and found that the survivors may have been in contact with fecal coliforms and E. coli bacteria.
Fecal coliforms are bacteria found in the intestines of humans and warm-blooded animals.
Globo recalls that for a beach to be considered suitable for bathing, it must not have more than 2,000 Escherichia coli bacteria per 100 millimeters. In the flood waters, there were concentrations higher than this value - and harmful to health.
These higher values could indicate the presence of various diseases related to warm-blooded animals (birds and mammals).
The study will also analyze whether the samples are toxic. The experts will check whether the water contains pesticides, pharmaceutical products or metals such as lead, chromium and mercury.
Leptospirosis kills
Meanwhile, shortly afterwards, the second death from leptospirosis, a bacterial disease transmitted by water, was confirmed in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, which is suffering from unprecedented flooding, health authorities said.
In a statement, the Rio Grande do Sul State Health Department confirmed "the second death from leptospirosis related to the floods in Rio Grande do Sul".
This was a 33-year-old man who died on Friday, and the cause of death was confirmed after a positive laboratory sample.
On Monday, the authorities had already confirmed the first death from leptospirosis, in a 67-year-old man.
"Even though leptospirosis is an endemic disease, with systematic circulation, episodes such as the flooding increase the chance of infection. That's why it's important for the population to seek health care at the first symptoms: fever, headache, weakness, body aches (especially in the calves) and chills," the regional authorities warned.
The teams from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) describe as catastrophic the humanitarian situation left by the floods in Rio Grande do Sul, whose impact they estimate as irreparable, with more than 150 dead and around 100 missing.
"The situation is catastrophic. When we arrived and toured the region by helicopter, we could see the towns from above and noticed that, in some cases, we couldn't even see the roofs of the houses. There are kilometers and kilometers, and all there is is water," describes MSF medical coordinator Rachel Soeiro, in a statement released today by the non-governmental organization.
