Severe Drought Strands Amazonian Communities in Brazil

Francisco Mateus da Silva, 67, spent an hour trekking over dried-up riverbeds and sandbanks near his home in the Amazon, in a desperate effort to gather food and water amid the region's worst drought on record, which has crippled river transport.

"It's extremely challenging for us because our lives revolve around the river. It's like our main road, and without water, we're essentially trapped. We can't even leave," Silva told Reuters.

In the state of Amazonas, 62 municipalities are currently in a state of emergency due to the drought. Neighboring Acre, a smaller state, has 21 municipalities facing the same crisis. Approximately 70% of the cities in the region, close to 300 in total, are enduring severe to extreme drought conditions, according to Cemaden, the national disaster monitoring center.

Silva emphasized that this year's drought, along with last year's, has been particularly devastating, leaving significant destruction in its wake.

Elineide Rodrigues, a fellow resident of the São Francisco do Maina community, located between the Amazon River and the Puraquequara lagoon near Manaus, shared similar struggles. Normally, she would take a boat across the lagoon to do her shopping in the state capital. However, with the water levels now reduced to just a few centimeters, she is forced to walk.

"Our biggest issue right now is transportation—whether it's to get groceries or for the students to reach school. We're having to walk kilometers these days," Rodrigues said.

The Negro River, which is the primary route to Manaus, is now just 20 centimeters (8 inches) above its lowest recorded level, set last year. This has already begun to disrupt the flow of supplies into the city and nearby communities.

(Reported by Bruno Kelly, written by Lisandra Paraguassu; Edited by Aurora Ellis)