One unprecedented study by IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) carried out an in-depth analysis of the impacts and consequences of the 2024 floods in Rio Grande do Sul. The climate tragedy left dozens of cities flooded for weeks and 185 people dead.
PEERS (Special Research on the 2024 Floods in Rio Grande do Sul), released this Wednesday (1st), estimates that 6,333,727 residents were affected by heavy rains in May and April 2024. Furthermore, the total number of households in the areas most affected by floods is estimated at 2.328.093.
Based on the total number of affected residents and residences, IBGE points out that more than half (55.5%) of residents assessed some type of damage to the structure of their homes after the floods. Furthermore, the vast majority (88%) of households experienced incidents caused by the climate disaster, mainly interruption of water and electricity supply (both 66.3%).
Among the impacts suffered by the population of Rio Grande do Sul, the research highlights the big blow to people’s mental health. In relation to the total research area, the reflection was recorded by at least one resident in 67.5% of households.
Os residents of the Intermediate Region of Porto Alegre were the most affectedas the emotional impact was identified in 73.3% of homes. See the graph below:
Life after floods
One of the main objectives of the study was to understand the impact on the lives of residents of Rio Grande do Sul one year after the tragedy.
Based on the assessment of the conditions of the physical structure of households after the floods, indicators were constructed that reflected the severity of the consequences of the climate event. They were evaluated as “destroyed” 81,272 households (3.5%) and 190,253 as “very damaged” (8.2%). Conditions of maximum precariousness were attributed to 11.7% of households.
In addition to the impact on mental health, higher percentages of direct impacts corresponded to the following occurrences:
- Interruptions in social life or spending time with family or friends: 58,4%;
- Difficulty commuting to work, school or daycare: 57,3%;
- Difficulty traveling to reach health services: 36,9%;
- Impacted physical health: 13,1%;
- Loss or damage of documents: 12,9%.
The research also investigated the financial assistance paid by the public authorities to homeless families. Respondents were asked whether any resident of the household received this transfer between April and May 2024. In 484,221 households, at least one resident reported receiving this assistance, representing 20.8% of the total.
The IBGE highlights that in the residences where public financial aid was paid, it was evaluated with some damage to the structure, the proportion reached 88.7%.
About quality of life before and after floodsof the total of more than 6 million people affected, 24.9% lived in households where they reported worsening. Another 17.3% reported improvement and 56.5% reported unchanged conditions after the tragedy.
Respondents also responded about the worsening of some specific public services. The study highlights the following percentages in which more people reported a drop in quality:
- Access to health services: 22.3% (14.7% reported improvement);
- Water supply: 17.7% (10.5% reported improvement);
- Rainwater runoff: 29.3% (14.1% reported improvement);
- Sanitary sewage: 17.2% (8.9% reported improvement);
- Public transport: 23.2% (8.7% reported improvement);
Data collection for the study was carried out between September 15, 2025 and February 27, 2026. For the first time at IBGE, a household survey was carried out entirely via computer-assisted telephone interview.
The target population of the research corresponded to households and residents of permanent private homes belonging to the geographic coverage area in the period of April and May 2024. The total sample of the research is 30 thousand households located in 133 cities affected by the floods.
The information collected experimentally will serve to support the planning of structural public policies and the creation of prevention plans and rapid response to that may happen in the future throughout Brazil.
Tragedy left 185 dead
In April and May 2024, Rio Grande do Sul faced the largest hydrometeorological event ever recorded in Brazilwith severe impacts on the population, infrastructure and economy. According to the latest update from the State Civil Defense, 185 people died and 23 are still missing.
Intense and prolonged rains caused floods and landslides in several regions of the state. Of the 497 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul, 418 declared an emergency or state of public calamity, and around 2.4 million people were affected.
In some municipalities, the volume of rain exceeded 500 millimeters in the first 13 days of May 2024.
A study investigating the factors that contributed to the floods. Among them are climate denialism, socioeconomic inequalities, geomorphological conditions, the territorial occupation model and the lack of prioritization of public policies.
