After extremely heavy rains in southern Brazil, people in the region are battling flooding. In the state of Rio Grande do Sul, large areas of land were flooded, streets and houses were flooded. According to local civil protection, 107 people have been killed so far.
“The impact of the floods and the scale of the tragedy are devastating,” Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite wrote. The capital Porto Alegre is cut off from the outside world, the city center and the airport are flooded (see video above).
His government assumes that at least 19 billion reais (about 3.4 billion euros) will be needed for reconstruction, Leite said. “We must not allow bureaucracy to prevent us from helping the people of Rio Grande do Sul,” he further wrote
“The rain in Rio Grande do Sul has broken all records. “The data shows that in less than 15 days, as much rain has fallen across the state as in five months previously, and that a new cold front with even more rain is forecast,” meteorologist Carlos Nobre told state news agency Agência Brasil.
Many missing and hundreds injured
According to civil protection, 754 people were injured and 134 others are still missing. More than 1.7 million people in 431 cities in the region were affected by the flooding. More than 395,000 people left their homes and sought shelter with relatives or in emergency shelters.
Numerous communities in the disaster area were cut off from electricity and water supplies. Telephone and internet connections were also interrupted in many cities. The air force brought relief supplies to the region, including medicine, water treatment plants and food.
The town of Canoas was particularly hard hit
The town of Canoas was particularly hard hit. “The city has been destroyed. “We lost 19 of the 27 health centers and four of the five district pharmacies were destroyed,” Mayor Jairo Jorge said on Globo TV. “All schools have been damaged, we have lost infrastructure and sports centers and we have to rebuild everything.”
Numerous firefighters and civil protection officials were deployed to combat the flooding. In Canoas on Thursday they rescued a horse that was stranded on the roof of a house. The animal was tranquilized and taken to shore in a rubber boat, as seen on television.
More heavy rain is forecast
Brazilian weather service INMET forecast further heavy rainfall for the region from Friday to Sunday. The Civil Defense of Rio Grande do Sul has issued a warning of heavy rain and strong winds with speeds of more than 90 kilometers per hour in much of the state. There was also a chance of thunder and hail showers.
Source: Krone
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