Record December rainfall triggered Bahia's worst documented floods, killing 21, displacing 62,800, and prompting a federal-state rescue operation.
Key Facts
- Deaths
- 21
- Injured
- 358
- Displaced
- 62,800 people
- Municipalities in emergency
- 72
- Salvador Dec 24 rainfall
- 250+ mm
- Dams collapsed
- 2 (Jussiape and Itambé)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Record rainfall struck the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia in late December 2021, with the state capital Salvador receiving over 250 millimetres on 24 December alone—five times the historic average for that date. Southern Bahia had already been weakened by flooding from Subtropical Storm Ubá earlier in the month.
Beginning 24 December, severe floods inundated Bahia, collapsing two dams at Jussiape and Itambé between 25 and 26 December. The Catolé river in Itapetinga reached heights comparable to the catastrophic 1989 flood. Governor Rui Costa declared it the worst disaster in Bahia's history, and 72 municipalities declared states of emergency.
Twenty-one people died, 358 were injured, and 62,800 were displaced. The Bahia state and Brazilian federal governments launched a joint rescue operation with assistance from other states. Parts of Vitória da Conquista and Itapetinga lost power and potable water, and COVID-19 medicines and vaccines were destroyed by the floodwaters.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 21 (flood)