Flood affects 87,000 people in Brazil

The number of people affected by the record-high flood in Acre River in the northern Brazilian state of Acre reached 87,000, local authorities said Wednesday.

Only in Rio Branco, capital city of Acre state, 53 neighborhoods are underwater -- an area of 50 square km, the authorities said.

More than 8,000 people are in public shelters, and thousands of others are staying with relatives as they had to leave their homes.

Three bridges were interdicted, and the population is suffering a shortage of drinking water and power. The level of the Acre River, which normally has a depth of six to eight meters, has reached a record-high of 18.3 meters.

Public servants have been released from work for the entire week in order to help in relief efforts.

The local agricultural sector has estimated losses of 52 million reals (17.3 million U.S. dollars), with some 45 square km of cultivated area damaged.

National Integration Minister Gilberto Occhi, who went to Acre state to get a closer look at the situation, assured that families living in risk areas will be included in the federal government's popular housing program to receive new homes in different areas.

Floods are a seasonal occurrence in the Acre River and other rivers in the Amazon Rainforest region. Last year, a similar flood blocked the only land access to Acre and left the state isolated from the rest of Brazil for weeks. Endi