The death toll after the devastating floods in southern Brazil is rising – entire neighborhoods have been submerged in masses of water and electricity and internet connections have been interrupted. And it continues to rain – the river levels are also rising. By Anne Herrberg.
The death toll after the devastating floods in southern Brazil is rising – entire neighborhoods have been submerged in masses of water and electricity and internet connections have been interrupted. And it continues to rain – the river levels are also rising.
Ricardo Frediani is traveling with his motorboat “Gulu” on the Guaiba River, which has flooded the metropolis of Porto Alegre – towards the municipality of Eldorado do Sul opposite.
Streets have become rivers, only the roofs of parked cars are visible, entire neighborhoods have completely submerged in the muddy brown masses of water. In the boat he has water and food for those who still hold the fort, they don’t want to leave their houses, Frediani explains to journalists from the AFP agency: “They are afraid of theft. A lot of theft is now happening at night and in the early hours of the morning. During the day a lot of police there, but I don’t dare come at night either.
But: It’s a race against time. It rained again at the weekend, even in the areas that had previously been hit hardest by the floods – such as Sao Leopoldo, in the Porto Alegre metropolitan area.
Boat rescues continue in the flooded neighborhoods of Porto Alegre in southern Brazil after authorities warned of a renewed rise in the Guaiba River in the coming days.
River levels are rising again
Claudio da Silva, an electrician from Sao Leopoldo, says: “I checked: the area where my house is is completely destroyed, my house collapsed, my brother-in-law’s house is under water up to the second floor. There are dead animals everywhere, “It’s a mess. And from the looks of it, the rain will last another week. I think we have to assume we won’t be able to come back for at least a month.”
The levels of practically all major rivers in Rio Grande do Sul are currently rising again, reports civil protection. The southern state of Brazil, which is almost the size of Italy, is experiencing the worst climate disaster in its history.
More than two million people are affected
The death toll has risen to more than 140 and over 600,000 people had to leave their homes. More than two million people are affected by the floods. Many communities are cut off from electricity and water supplies. Telephone and internet connections were also interrupted in many places.
A man pets a dog rescued from the floods at an animal shelter in Porto Alegre.
Rescue workers are on duty around the clock – including for tens of thousands of animals that were saved from the flood. On Cassia Simone Heringer runs a mobile first aid center in the parking lot of a shopping center: “We are setting up a field hospital here to take in all these animals that we rescued from the water. Here they receive first aid. They are then taken to emergency shelters brought.”
Aid package of nine billion euros
Meanwhile, according to the regional government, Latin America’s largest warship for humanitarian aid operations was received on Saturday in the port of the city of Rio Grande. The most important pieces of equipment include two water treatment plants that can produce a total of 20,000 liters per hour.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced an aid package worth the equivalent of almost nine billion euros for the region.
Anne Herrberg, ARD Rio de Janeiro, tagesschau, May 13, 2024 12:30 a.m