Negro river reaches record highs in Manaus, Brazil

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Wed, 02 Jun 2021 11:21 UTC

The Negro River (Rio Negro) at Manaus, capital of the state of Amazonas in northwestern Brazil, reached a record high of 29.98 metres on 01 June 2021, the city government announced.

This is the highest level ever measured at the at the port's measuring station, beating the previous record high of 29.97 metres set during the floods of 2012.

Fifteen districts of the city have been affected. Homes have been inundated and livelihoods disrupted. Over 2,000 food baskets have been distributed to affected families over the last 2 weeks.

Residents have to walk on wooden walkways and bridges through the city. The government said military and Civil Defence teams have constructed over 9,000 metres of the temporary walkways since the start of the flooding. In addition, more than 10 tons of calcium oxide have been applied to the flood waters in central areas of the city in order to reduce odour and the proliferation of insects and diseases transmitted by stagnant water.

Rivers in the state have been high for some time. Many surpassed alert levels in early April. As reported here, flooding across Amazonas affected over 450,000 people as of late May 2021.

In a recent update, State Civil Defence estimated that 455,576 people are now affected by the flooding of the Negro, Amazon and Solimões rivers and their tributaries. Fifty-eight of 62 municipalities have been affected. Twenty-five municipalities have declared emergency situation.