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Amazon Rainforest Port Records Lowest Water Level in 121 Years amid Drought

An aerial view shows the Negro River, which has been affected by drought, in front of Santa Helena do Ingles community, in Iranduba, Amazonas state Brazil, October 7, 2023. (Reuters)
An aerial view shows the Negro River, which has been affected by drought, in front of Santa Helena do Ingles community, in Iranduba, Amazonas state Brazil, October 7, 2023. (Reuters)
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Amazon Rainforest Port Records Lowest Water Level in 121 Years amid Drought

An aerial view shows the Negro River, which has been affected by drought, in front of Santa Helena do Ingles community, in Iranduba, Amazonas state Brazil, October 7, 2023. (Reuters)
An aerial view shows the Negro River, which has been affected by drought, in front of Santa Helena do Ingles community, in Iranduba, Amazonas state Brazil, October 7, 2023. (Reuters)

The water level at a major river port in Brazil's Amazon rainforest hit its lowest point in at least 121 years on Monday, as a historic drought upends the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and damages the jungle ecosystem.

Rapidly drying tributaries to the mighty Amazon river have left boats stranded, cutting off food and water supplies to remote jungle villages, while high water temperatures are suspected of killing more than 100 endangered river dolphins.

The port in Manaus, the region's most populous city located where the Negro river meets the Amazon river, recorded a water level of 13.59 meters on Monday, according to its website. That's the lowest level since records began in 1902, passing a previous all-time low set in 2010.

Some areas of the Amazon have seen the lowest rain levels from July to September since 1980, according to the Brazilian government disaster alert center Cemaden.

Brazil's Science Ministry blames the drought on this year's onset of the climate phenomenon El Nino, which is driving extreme weather patterns globally. In a statement earlier this month, the ministry said it expects the drought will last until at least December, when El Nino's effects are forecast to peak.

The drought has affected nearly 400,000 people, according to the civil defense agency in the state of Amazonas, where Manaus is located.

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Woman who Disappeared from Wisconsin More Than 6 Decades Ago Found Safe

A welcome sign stands at the entrance of the city of Reedsburg, Wis., in July 2020. (Erica Dynes/Reedsburg Times-Press via AP)
A welcome sign stands at the entrance of the city of Reedsburg, Wis., in July 2020. (Erica Dynes/Reedsburg Times-Press via AP)
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Woman who Disappeared from Wisconsin More Than 6 Decades Ago Found Safe

A welcome sign stands at the entrance of the city of Reedsburg, Wis., in July 2020. (Erica Dynes/Reedsburg Times-Press via AP)
A welcome sign stands at the entrance of the city of Reedsburg, Wis., in July 2020. (Erica Dynes/Reedsburg Times-Press via AP)

Sixty-two years ago, Audrey Backeberg disappeared from a small city in south-central Wisconsin after reportedly hitchhiking with her family’s babysitter and catching a bus to Indianapolis.
Nobody ever knew where she went or what happened to her.
All that changed last week when she was found alive and safe in another state, thanks to the fresh eyes from a deputy who took over the case in February.
Detective Isaac Hanson discovered an out-of-state arrest record that matched Backeberg, which triggered a series of investigative moves that led to finding her alive and safe in another state.
Turns out Backeberg chose to leave the town of Reedsburg on her own accord -- likely due to an abusive husband, The Associated Press quoted Hanson as saying.
“She’s happy, safe and secure; And just kind of lived under the radar for that long,” he said.
Hanson was assigned the case in late February and, after discovering the arrest record, he and other officials met with Backeberg’s family to see if they had a connection with that region. They also started digging through Backeberg's sister's Ancestry.com account, pulling census records, obituaries and marriage licenses from that region.
Within about two months, they found an address where a woman was living that Hanson said shared a lot of similarities with Backeberg, including date of birth and social security number. Hanson was able to get a deputy from that jurisdiction to go to the address. Ten minutes later, Backeberg, now in her 80's, called Hanson.
“It happened so fast," he said. "I was expecting the deputy to call me back and say, ‘Oh nobody answered the door.’ And I thought it was the deputy calling me, but it was actually her. And to be honest it was just a very casual conversation. I could sense that she obviously had her reasons for leaving.”
Most of the information he learned during that call he declined to share, saying that it was still important to Backeberg that she not be found.
“I think it overwhelmed her of course with the emotions that she had, having a deputy show up at her house and then kind of call her out and talk with her about what happened and kind of relive 62 years in 45 minutes,” he said.
Hanson described discovering her safe after more than six decades practically unheard of. And while he doesn't know what will happen next in terms of her family reconnecting, he said he was happy that she can reach out if she wants to.
“There's family living here, so she has my contact number if she ever wants to reach out or needs anything, any phone numbers of family members back here," he said. "Ultimately she kind of holds the cards for that.”