Huge floods in Brazil’s south are a harbinger of disasters to come

Rio Grande do Sul is among Brazil’s most prosperous states. Larger than Britain and home to 11m people, its fertile plains attracted millions of immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They turned it into an agricultural powerhouse. As in neighbouring Uruguay and Argentina, the state’s people are called gaúchos for their cowboy skills. Its output accounts for around 6% of Brazil’s GDP. It produces 70% of the country’s rice and is the world’s top exporter of tobacco. It is also a big producer of wheat, soy, cattle and cellulose. Just in the first four months of the year the state’s agricultural products accounted for $3bn in exports.