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A s the rain poured down during the night of 3 May, a stream of people began to arrive at the Lutheran University of Brazil in Canoas, a city in the southernmost state of Brazil , Rio Grande do Sul. For a week, heavy rains had been pummelling the landscape, raising river levels and flooding homes, forcing many to seek shelter elsewhere. Three weeks later, the university harbours thousands of people and is the largest camp for the displaced amid a growing humanitarian crisis in the state of 10 million inhabitants.

More than 580,000 people have been displaced, with almost 70,000 of them depending on shelters, according to a state government report . A total of 2.3 million people have been affected by the torrential rain and floods.



City, state and federal governments are working to provide assistance , but the authorities estimate that the situation will take months or even years to return to normal. More than 90% of Rio Grande do Sul’s 497 municipalities have been affected, with 418 declaring a state of emergency or disaster . View image in fullscreen Nearly a third of the residents of the city of Canoas have been displaced, according to officials.

Photograph: Daniel Marenco/The Guardian In Canoas, more than 100,000 of its 347,000 inhabitants have been displaced, according to city officials. A stroll through the university buildings reveals tents made using goalposts, families and pets crammed into all corners, children playing, long queues for the bathrooms and people prayi.

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