Over 36,700 affected by floods in northern Brazil

Over 36,700 people were affected by the flood in the Amazon River basin in Brazil's northern Para state, local authorities said on Friday. In the Para state through which the lower Amazon River flows to the sea, seven towns declared state of emergency due to the flooding that affected entire neighborhoods, while eight others were currently in state of alert, the authorities said. The towns in state of emergency will distribute humanitarian kits with food, cleaning and personal hygiene products, with a priority given to families left homeless by the floods, the authorities said. The Civil Defense authorities said they expected the flood to increase over the next few days. Seasonal floods are common in northern Brazil due to the high volume of water in the rivers of the Amazon River basin. Earlier this year, Rondonia state, also in Brazil's northern region, faced the worst flood in decades. Entire communities were underwater and a federal highway that was the only connection by land to neighboring Acre state was blocked for a month.