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Rainfall & Drought in Brazil
El Niņo events have been connected to two contrasting climatic disturbances in different
parts of the Brazil. The northeast region, which has periodic drought and variable
rainfall, suffered extreme drought in 1983. In contrast, southern Brazil, which normally
has high rainfall, experienced heavy and prolonged rainfall in 1982-83 resulting in
extensive flooding.
The two regions also differ greatly in their level of development. Southern Brazil has
modern agriculture, is heavily industrialized, and has higher and more evenly distributed
incomes. The northeast had many poorly paid subsistence farmer; incomes are generally
lower and are unevenly distributed. This difference affects the ability of people in the
two regions to adapt to climatic stress.
In 1983, about 88% of the northeast region - including 14 million people - was affected by
drought. The drought caused a 16% decrease in agricultural production and many subsistence
farmer lost all their production. Some food prices increased by 300%, agricultural
unemployment soared, and the government had to give drought assistance to some 2.8 million
people.
During the same year, in southern Brazil, rainfall increased by 70-100%. The area
experienced the worst flooding of the century, with destruction of buildings, transport
and communications networks. Scores of people died, and several hundred thousand were made
homeless.
In the southern province of Santa Caterina alone, crop losses were estimated at $924
million. Loses of livestock amounted to 800 000 poultry, a6500 swine and 43 000 cattle.
Water is estimated to have removed about 25 million tons of fertile topsoil. Despite these
huge losses, and a drop in per capital income, the generally high level of income in the
area enabled the population to subsist independently, in contrast to the north-east
region.
Nationally, this extreme weather reduced harvests of export crops, such as coffee and
soya, and exacerbated Brazil's huge trade deficit. The combined losses in production in
the dry north-east and inundated south have been estimated at $875 million for the first 6
months of 1983 - about 10% of the production expected for that year.
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