BRASILIA, Sept 27 (Reuters) – Brazil’s government is preparing a task force to provide emergency assistance to inhabitants in the Amazon region hit by a severe drought that has impacted the rivers that are their life support, Environment Minister Marina Silva said.
Low river levels and hotter waters have killed masses of fish seen floating on river surfaces, contaminating the drinking water, she said.
“We have a very worrying situation. This record drought has disrupted river transport routes threatening food and water shortages, and a large fish mortality is already beginning,” she told Reuters in an interview.
Some 111,000 people have been affected in a region where a much of the population’s protein comes from fishing, which will be suspended for some time, she added.
The civil defense agency warned that the drought could eventually impact up to 500,000 people in the Amazon.
The Port of Manaus website said the Rio Negro’s water level fell by an average of 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) a day since mid-September and stood at 16.4 meters (54 feet) on Wednesday, about six meters below its level on the same day of last year…