May 11, 2024, 4:29 PM
May 11, 2024, 4:29 PM
Rescuers and volunteers continue rescue and assistance operations this Saturday despite the new burst of torrential rains in the southern Brazil, where the toll of victims from the floods continues to rise.
River floods caused by the historic volumes of water that fell since the end of April in Rio Grande do Sul affected almost two million people, with a balance of 136 dead and 756 injured, Civil Defense reported.
Some 125 people remain missing and more than 410,000 had to leave their homes due to the catastrophe, which UN experts and the Brazilian government link to climate change and the El Niño phenomenon.
According to the Brazilian Confederation of Municipalities, the violence of the waters damaged or destroyed more than 92,000 homes.
The authorities are on alert and are multiplying messages to the population not to return to places at risk after the rains returned with force since Friday in the capital Porto Alegre and other already affected areas of the state.
torrential downpours They considerably reduced the flow of boats to the affected areas, where many residents remain in their homes for fear of looting, AFP observed.
However, the civilians who lead these tasks continue to flow towards the boarding points, where they carry donations of water, food and medicine to distribute from the water to the houses that are still inhabited.
In the flooded streets of the Sao Joao neighborhood, firefighters and volunteers equipped with jetskis and inflatable boats continued to work in the heavy rain.
Meanwhile, throughout the city a scene was repeated: suction trucks drained the muddy water that invaded the buildings.
Despite the new rains, the inhabitants try to recover some normality. In the central areas of Porto Alegre, more shops and restaurants open with each passing day.
But the supply of clean water remained interrupted, so tanker trucks constantly crossed the city supplying shelters, hotels and other buildings.
The weather situation should remain critical in the region, with “isolated showers and storms” that will last until the beginning of next week, according to the National Institute of Meteorology, which warned of risks of “floods and electrical shocks.”
“All that humidity will be very persistent,” said meteorologist Cátia Valente, who warned about the risk of new landslides on the northern coast and the “gaúcha” mountain range.
According to forecasts, the heaviest rains should occur between Sunday and Monday.
Several rivers, such as the Uruguay, the Guaíba and the Jacuí, in addition to the Laguna de los Patos, were still overflowing but their flows are decreasing, the state government reported.
The Guaíba, an expanse of water that bathes Porto Alegrereached 4.58 meters this Saturday morning, for the first time since May 3.
