Current:Home > MyIn the Amazon, communities next to the world’s most voluminous river are queuing for water -TradeGrid
In the Amazon, communities next to the world’s most voluminous river are queuing for water
View
Date:2025-04-14 14:55:39
CAREIRO DA VARZEA, Brazil (AP) — As the Amazon drought rages on, public authorities in Brazil are scrambling to deliver food and water to thousands of isolated communities throughout a vast and roadless territory, where boats are the only means of transportation.
Across Amazonas state, which has a territory the size of three Californias, 59 out of its 62 municipalities are under state of emergency, impacting 633,000 people. In the capital Manaus, Negro River — a major tributary of the Amazon — has reached its lowest level since official measurements began 121 years ago.
One of the most impacted cities is Careiro da Varzea, near Manaus by the Amazon River. On Tuesday, the municipality distributed emergency kits using an improvised barge originally designed to transport cattle.
Packages with food for riverside communities due to the ongoing drought sit on a dock, in Careiro da Varzea, Amazonas state, Brazil, Oct. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File)
A resident of a riverside community carries a container of drinking water from an aid distribution due to the ongoing drought in Careiro da Varzea, Amazonas state, Brazil, Oct. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File)
The Associated Press accompanied the delivery to two communities. It docked miles away from them, requiring residents, most of them small farmers and fishermen, to walk long distances through former riverbeds turned into endless sand banks and mud.
Each family received a basic food package and 20 liters (5.3 gallons) of water, enough for just a few days but a heavy burden to carry under the scorching heat.
“I will have to carry the food package on my back for half an hour,” Moisés Batista de Souza, a small farmer from Sao Lazaro community, told the AP. He said the biggest problem is getting drinkable water. To reach the closest source demands a long walk from his house.
“Everybody in Careiro da Varzea has been affected by the drought,” said Jean Costa de Souza, chief of Civil Defense of Careiro da Varzea, a municipality of 19,600 people, most living in rural areas. “Unfortunately, people don’t have water. Some lost their crops, while others couldn’t transport their output.”
Residents of a riverside community carry food and containers of drinking water after receiving aid due to the ongoing drought in Careiro da Varzea, Amazonas state, Brazil, Oct. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File)
Costa de Souza said the municipality will finish next week the first round of deliveries to all rural communities. Other two rounds are under planning, pending on receiving aid from state and federal governments.
Dry spells are part of the Amazon’s cyclical weather pattern, with lighter rainfall from May to October for most of the rainforest. The season is being further stretched this year by two climate phenomena: the warming of northern tropical Atlantic Ocean waters and El Niño — the warming of surface waters in the Equatorial Pacific region — which will peak between December and January.
___
AP reporter Fabiano Maisonnave contributed from Brasilia.
___
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
veryGood! (48)
Related
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- Lack of snow cancels longest sled dog race in eastern United States
- Supreme Court to hear challenges to Texas, Florida social media laws
- What The Bachelor's Joey Graziadei Wants Fans to Know Ahead of Emotional Season Finale
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- 'American Idol' judges say contestant covering Billie Eilish's 'Barbie' song is 'best we've ever heard'
- Idaho to execute Thomas Creech, infamous serial killer linked to at least 11 deaths
- Will AT&T customers get a credit for Thursday's network outage? It might be worth a call
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- 15-year-old from Massachusetts arrested in shooting of Vermont woman found in a vehicle
Ranking
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- Bye-bye, birdie: Maine’s chickadee makes way for star, pine tree on new license plate
- NFL scouting combine 2024: How to watch workouts for NFL draft prospects
- Duke’s Scheyer wants the ACC to implement measures to prevent court-storming after Filipowski injury
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- We Went Full Boyle & Made The Ultimate Brooklyn Nine-Nine Gift Guide
- Peter Anthony Morgan, lead singer of reggae band Morgan Heritage, dies at age 46
- A school bus driver dies in a crash near Rogersville; 2 students sustain minor injuries
Recommendation
McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
Sophia Grace Will Have Your Heartbeat Runnin' Away With Son River's First Birthday Party
Volkswagen pickup truck ideas officially shelved for North America
Alabama judge shot in home; son arrested and charged, authorities say
The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
Mohegan tribe to end management of Atlantic City’s Resorts casino at year’s end
Purdue, Houston, Creighton lead winners and losers from men's college basketball weekend
United Daughters of the Confederacy would lose Virginia tax breaks, if Youngkin signs off