The flooded buildings of Porto Alegre, Brazil ? in pictures

Photographer Gideon Mendel has filmed and photographed floods around the world extensively. He travelled by boat through the historic town centre of Port Alegre, documenting the reflections across a city that had become a liquid landscape

Main image: The public market building, built in 1864, is a historic landmark and a popular meeting point with many coffee shops and restaurants. Photograph: Gideon Mendel

  • The ministry of health building in the historic centre of Porto Alegre

    ’Since 2007 I have made 23 trips to film and photograph floods in 13 different countries. Working within this topography of climate change I am drawn to making images of precise symmetry and in doing so I seek to challenge our sense of security in the world. By crafting visually intense and compelling images my intention is to invite viewers first to engage, then to look further and deeper.’
    Ministry of health building surrounded by flood water

  • Detail of a doorway of the ministry of health building

    A car submerged in water outside a doorway to the museum

  • Museum of Art of Rio Grande do Sul

    The museum is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. Its art collection has more than 5,700 art pieces, which had to be removed quickly by volunteers to be saved from the flood
    Museum of Art of Rio Grande do Sul

  • A car in front of the Anthropologic Museum of Rio Grande do Sul

    A submerged car

  • A bus stop structure at the rear of the State Bank of Rio Grande do Sul headquarters

    Bus shelters reflected in water

  • A Bank of Brazil branch in the historic centre

    A bank sign is reflected in flood water

  • A historic commercial building

    “Eighteen days since the flood water arrived, reality still seems inverted with surreal reflections appearing where they do not belong. With so many museums, galleries and historic buildings submerged, local people are struggling to comprehend such monumental damage to their cultural heritage. The scale and intensity of this flood feels like a new chapter in our global climate emergency.’
    A historic commercial building in the centre of Porto Alegre

  • A scrap metal business in Vila dos Papeleiros

    This is a community close to the town centre known for recycling
    A building on which is written 'Fogaca Com de Metais', which is reflected in the water

  • The city hall building

    The city hall building

  • Windows of the city hall building

    Windows are reflected in the water

  • A magazine stand with an advertisement

    A magazine stand with an advert for an internet provider in the centre of Porto Alegre.

  • Casa de Cultura Mario Quintana

    A hugely popular and architecturally distinctive building, opened originally as the Majestic Hotel in 1933, now a cultural centre with theatre, cinema, public garden, gallery, restaurant and bookshop. The poet Mario Quintana was a permanent resident here from 1969 to 1980
    Flooded interior of a building
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