2024-05-06 19:03:37
The climate catastrophe caused by heavy rains in southern Brazil worsened this Friday, with at least 37 dead and 74 missing, while the advance of the waters threatens the capital of Rio Grande do Sul with “unprecedented” floods, warned the authorities.
The rescue brigades are trying to reach and supply numerous isolated municipalities, without communications and with blocked roads, and even without electricity or water.
The exceptional volume of the rivers has multiplied the alerts in the state due to dam breaks that could worsen the disaster.
In Porto Alegre, capital of Rio Grande do Sul, the situation “is going to be unprecedented,” said Governor Eduardo Leite.
“Forget everything you have already seen (…) in the metropolitan region it is going to be much worse,” he warned.
The rapid rise of the Guaíba River in recent hours could cover vast areas of one of the largest cities in southern Brazil, with a population of 1.5 million.
The river level, currently estimated between 4.20 and 4.60 meters, “is historic” and is expected to exceed 5 meters in the afternoon, Leite said.
An overflow could cause the largest flood in the city’s history, surpassing that recorded in 1941, according to authorities.
Some streets in the historic center were flooded this Friday, AFP confirmed.
Aerial images of the state show enormous surfaces completely flooded, rivers washing away bridges and roads or rescues of people on roofs with helicopters, accounting for the “worst disaster” in the history of the state, according to Leite.
Due to the floods in the state, at least four dams “are in an emergency situation, with risk of breaking,” the Government reported.
“I am from here and I feel very sorry for everyone who lives here (…), I feel pain in my heart,” Maria Luiza, a 51-year-old resident, told AFP in São Sebastião do Caí, about 70 km from Porto Alegre.
In Capela de Santana, north of the state capital, Raul Metzel explained that his neighbors had to abandon their livestock. “It is not known if the water will continue to rise or what will happen to the animals, they may soon drown,” he said.
In the midst of the tragedy, there are also scenes of hope, such as the rescue by helicopter of four pregnant women in the town of Agudo, to transfer them to a hospital.
Source: Agencies.
2024-05-06 19:03:37