TEFE, Brazil (AP) — Just months after enduring floods that destroyed crops and submerged entire communities, thousands of families in the Brazilian Amazon are now dealing with severe drought that, at least in some areas, is the worst in decades. The low level of the Amazon River, at the center of the largest drainage system in the world, has put dozens of municipalities under alert.
The fast-decreasing river water level is due to lower-than-expected rainfall during August and September, according to Luna Gripp, a geosciences researcher who monitors the western Amazon’s river levels for the Brazilian Geological Survey.
As most of Amazonas state is not connected by roads, the main concern is the shortage of food, fuel and other goods normally transported through waterways. In Tefe, a city of 60,000 people by the Amazon river, large ships have not been able to arrive at the downtown port.
The situation is even more critical in the dozens of communities scattered through the region surrounding Tefe, affecting about 3,500 families. Many waterways, such as lakes and creeks, have dried up, eliminating access to the Amazon River and thus to nearby cities, which function as commercial hubs.