The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is providing food baskets to hundreds of vulnerable families in Brazil affected by heavy rainfall and severe flooding in the northeastern part of the country.

About 270,000 people were forced to leave their homes and 39 died during weeks of flooding in the region, the BBC reported.

The regional rainy season is set to continue through this month, said Jefferson Kern, project coordinator for ADRA in North Brazil. The continued precipitation raises concerns of increased food scarcity and the growing risk of water-borne diseases, Kern said.

High waters have destroyed thousands of homes and acres of cropland, and left many rural farmers without a source of income, ADRA representatives said.

ADRA is distributing food baskets stocked with food and other personal necessities to 400 families in the city of Altamira and more than 100 to other rural villages. The project will help over 3,000 individuals and focuses on families, the elderly and children, as well as struggling farmers.