The south of Brazil, devastated by historic floods whose toll continues to rise, is once again hit by intense rains which are expected to further intensify over the weekend, complicating the work of rescue teams and raises fears of further damage. “A lot of people see the rain and are traumatized. We see that people are afraid,” says Enio Posti, a firefighter from Porto Alegre, the capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, which is still largely flooded.
Heavy downpours at the start of the month in this agricultural state in the south of the country caused rivers to overflow, affecting nearly two million people and leaving 136 dead and 806 injured, according to the latest report from Civil Defense on Saturday evening. . There are still 125 people missing, while more than 537,000 have been forced to abandon their homes due to this disaster, which United Nations experts and the Brazilian government link to climate change and the El Niño phenomenon.
The “greatest surge of donations” in Brazilian history
Around 81,000 other people took refuge in shelters opened by the authorities, while more than 92,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by the floods, according to the National Confederation of Municipalities. Since the return of rains on Friday in Porto Alegre and other areas already affected, the authorities remain on alert and are increasing messages asking the population not to return to the disaster areas.
In the regional capital of 1.4 million inhabitants, operations to distribute food aid, drinking water, medicine and clothing continue despite the rain.
Government institutions, businesses, political and sports figures, artists or ordinary citizens, the entire country is mobilizing to help the victims. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva welcomed the “greatest surge of donations ever recorded in the history of our country” on the social network X on Saturday.
The region expects “isolated showers and storms”, which will continue until early next week, according to the National Meteorological Institute, which warns of the risk of “floods and electric shocks”.
The highest volumes of precipitation are forecast to occur between Sunday and Monday. Meteorologist Catia Valente warned of the risk of new landslides on the north coast in particular.