Southern Brazil still reeling from floods facing risk of new storms

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (AP) — As massive flooding engulfed entire towns in the northern part of Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state last week, meteorologist Estael Sias knew the water would flow into the metropolitan area of ​​the capital Porto Alegre and would need to find a safe place.

So she, her husband, her three children and her two dogs left everything behind. Less than 24 hours later, water began to fill his neighborhood in Canoas, now one of the hardest-hit towns in the state.

“My house was flooded,” Sias recalls, his voice breaking. “And it was very hard to leave my home, to have my family leave.” She said she could protect her immediate family, but not others who insisted on staying put. “It was very painful and still is. I don’t know what it will be like when I get home.

Authorities in southern Brazil rushed to rescue survivors of massive floods that killed at least 100 people on Wednesday, but some residents refused to leave their belongings behind while others returned to their evacuated homes despite the risk new storms.

Heavy rains and flooding in Rio Grande do Sul since last week have also left 130 people missing, authorities said. More than 230,000 people were displaced and much of the region was cut off by floodwaters.

Storms were expected in the state Wednesday evening, with hail and wind gusts reaching up to 60 kilometers per hour (37 mph), according to the National Meteorological Institute’s afternoon bulletin. And the institute predicts a cold front this weekend with additional rain, particularly intense in the north and east of the state.

In Porto Alegre, around 300 people were staying at local club Gremio Nautico Uniao, based in the upscale, little-touched Moinhos de Vento neighborhood. Dozens of people lay on mattresses as volunteers brought boxes filled with feijoada, a typical Brazilian bean and pork stew.

Heitor da Silva was among them, having heeded the authorities’ warnings. However, he worries about his future.

“I only took my documents, three shirts, two pairs of underwear and my flip-flops. Everything else is gone,” said da Silva, 68. “I already had very little, but it stayed there. When I go home, there will be nothing. So what ?

Employees of the state civil defense agency told The Associated Press they were having difficulty persuading residents in the town of Eldorado do Sul, one of the hardest hit by the floods, to leave their homes. It is located next to Porto Alegre, near the center of the state’s coastline. At least four people refused to evacuate.

An overflight of Eldorado do Sul by a military helicopter showed hundreds of submerged houses, with only the roofs visible. Residents used small boards, surfboards and personal watercraft to get around. Mayor Ernani de Freitas told local journalists that the city “would be completely evacuated.”

“It will take at least a year to recover,” he said.

Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite, speaking at a press conference Tuesday evening, called on residents to stay out of danger as expected downpours could cause more severe flooding throughout the region. ‘State.

“Now is not the time to go home,” he said.

The urgent warning issued by the civil protection agency, asking displaced residents not to return to flooded areas, also highlighted the risk of disease transmission.

Army Gen. Marcelo Zucco, one of the coordinators of the rescue operations, told the AP that his team was working at full capacity ahead of heavy rains expected to hit the Porto Alegre region this weekend. Moderate rain fell on the city on Wednesday afternoon.

“We hope the next rains won’t be like the ones we’ve seen, but there’s no way to be sure there won’t be problems ahead,” Zucco said.

“At the moment we are focusing on finalizing rescue operations and starting logistical support to the population. This means bringing water, medicine, food and transporting the sick to a hospital,” the general added.

He also said that some improvement in the day’s conditions allowed his men to finally access some areas by land.

Unusually heavy rains also flooded parts of Uruguay, causing rivers in the east of the country to overflow and displace nearly 1,000 people, authorities said, with rescuers saying they had evacuated 200 stranded people, helped by the army. There were no immediate reports of casualties, but emergency services said flash floods damaged more than a dozen roads and left thousands of people without power.

Over the weekend, rains in northern Rio Grande do Sul could cause renewed flooding of rivers that are already causing widespread flooding around the Patos Lagoon, where the Porto Alegre municipal region is located, Sias said , the meteorologist from Rio Grande do Sul, who works for a forecasting service based there.

“We will remain at this alert level at least until the end of the month,” she said.

A report from the National Confederation of Municipalities estimates damage at 4.6 billion reais ($930 million) in nearly 80% of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul.

Governor Leite said the enormous impact would require something similar to the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. The state has already asked the federal government to suspend debt payments and create a fund for the southern region.

On Tuesday, Congress passed a decree declaring a state of calamity in Rio Grande do Sul until the end of the year, allowing the federal government to quickly allocate funds to mitigate the disaster and rebuild the regions affected by floods, circumventing the spending ceiling. The vote united supporters and opponents of the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

“There is no limit to the public spending necessary to resolve the problem of the calamity that is ravaging the state of Rio Grande do Sul today,” Minister of Planning and Budget Simone Tebet said in a statement. interview with Radio Gaucha.

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Sá Pessoa reported from Sao Paulo. AP video journalist Lucas Dumphreys contributed from Porto Alegre and writer Isabel DeBre from Buenos Aires.