By Ben Tavener
SAO PAULO
Brazil's Acre River has swelled to historic levels, forcing more than 7,000 residents from their homes, the local fire department in the capital of Acre state, Rio Branco, reported Tuesday.
A total of 75,000 people have now been affected by the flood, emergency services said.
The river reached an historic depth of 59.4 feet (18.11 meters) on Tuesday, surpassing the 17.66 meters point in 1997, and leaving some 40 districts of Rio Branco under water.
Rio Branco Mayor Marcus Alexandre has declared a state of emergency in the city, which he told reporters was "facing the worst natural disaster in 132 years." The state capital is home to 365,000 residents and the Acre River, which runs through the city, is a key tributary of the Amazon via the Purus River.
Ten Acre municipalities have now declared emergencies, including Xapuri, Brasileia and Epitaciolândia, located upstream on the Acre River and which have fared far worse, with some local news outlets describing the situation as "catastrophic" and "devastating."
The federal government has now released $859,000 (2.5 million reais) for the ongoing rescue effort and to aid victims of the floods in the northwestern state, the G1 news portal reported. Neighboring Amazonas state has also now begun sending aid kits.
In addition to having their possessions destroyed by the flooding, reports published Tuesday also suggested the chaos was being used by criminals to loot houses temporarily abandoned due to the flood waters.
Floods in the area's towns and cities are a regular occurrence during the annual December-March rainy season. Parts of the state are cut off by high river levels every year.
Meteorologist Ricardo De La Rosa, from the Amazon Protection System, or SIPAM, was quoted by the Agencia Brasil news agency as saying that particularly heavy rains from neighboring Colombia, Peru and Bolivia -- which all border Brazil's Amazon region -- had particularly exacerbated the situation this year.
"The raised level of the rivers here (in Acre) have been spurred by rains falling principally on the eastern slopes of the Andes," De La Rosa said. Significant rainfall is expected to continue in the region for the next week.
The poor Brazilian state of Acre, part of Bolivia until the start of the 20th century, relies on exports of wood, rubber, poultry and nuts.
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