Too much water, and not enough: the flooded south of Brazil struggles to access basic products

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (AP) — The mayor of a major southern Brazilian city urged residents Tuesday to comply with his water rationing decree, given that about four-fifths of the population are deprived of running water, a week after the major floods which took place. left at least 90 dead and more than 130 others missing.

Efforts continue to rescue people stranded by floods in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, as more rain was forecast for the region next week. The capital, Porto Alegre, has been virtually isolated, with the airport and bus station closed and main roads blocked by floodwaters.

The floods in Brazil are among the extreme weather events being seen around the world.

The building of yoga teacher Maria Vitória Jorge, in downtown Porto Alegre, is flooded. So she leaves him behind, after withdrawing about 8,000 reais ($1,600) from her savings to rent an apartment for herself and her parents elsewhere in the state.

“I can’t shower at home, do the dishes or even have drinking water,” Jorge, 35, said in her car as she prepared to travel. She had only a gallon of water to travel the 200 kilometers to the town of Torres, which has so far been spared from flooding.

Five of Porto Alegre’s six water treatment facilities are not operating and Porto Alegre Mayor Sebastião Melo decreed on Monday that water would be used exclusively for “essential consumption.”

“We are experiencing an unprecedented natural disaster and everyone needs to help,” Melo told reporters. “I take water tankers to the football fields and people will have to go there to get their bottled water. I can’t get them to go home.

The most urgent need is clean water, but food and personal hygiene products are also lacking. Other Brazilian states are mobilizing trucks with donations to Rio Grande do Sul.

There were long queues and empty shelves at supermarkets in Porto Alegre on Tuesday. Some people have been trying to buy bottled water since the weekend, and when they found it, their purchases were limited to two five-liter (1.3-gallon) bottles.

Public health experts say there is also a growing risk of disease as much of the region remains submerged, warning that cases of dengue fever and leptospirosis, a bacterial disease in particular, could rise sharply within a few years. days.

Adriano Hueck was trying to retrieve medicines stored in a friend’s partially flooded warehouse on Tuesday.

“If we can keep some of it, there’s still a chance it could be useful in hospitals,” said Hueck, 53, who then pointed to another part of the city. “My house is somewhere over there. We can’t even see its roof now.

Like Jorge, the yoga teacher, residents of Rio Grande do Sul who can flee do so, fearing shortages and disease. However, it is difficult for many to leave Porto Alegre, with main access roads blocked by floodwaters. The city’s airport and main bus station are full of water and closed for the foreseeable future.

Near the airport, around a hundred residents of a neighboring shantytown have set up tents on the road, hoping to return to their huts on small boats to try to save some of their belongings. A few pieces of meat roasted on improvised grills.

The showers have stopped for now, but an impending cold front will bring heavier rain starting Tuesday evening, mainly in the southern part of the state, according to the National Weather Institute. Rainfall could exceed 150 millimeters (nearly six inches) by Wednesday morning.

On Monday evening, the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite, issued an alert for several towns near the immense Patos lagoon. Floodwaters from Porto Alegre and other towns flow through the lagoon to the sea.

“The water level will rise and it will affect you,” he said in a video posted on his social networks. “Please believe the warnings and help us save lives. Let’s reduce the damage so we can be together to rebuild.

The Porto Alegre metropolitan region is one of the largest in Brazil and has around 4 million inhabitants.

Rain damage has already forced more than 150,000 people to leave their homes. An additional 50,000 people took shelter in schools, gymnasiums and other temporary shelters.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited Rio Grande do Sul for the second time on Sunday, accompanied by Defense Minister José Múcio, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad and Environment Minister Marina Silva, among others.

Authorities said on Monday they were concerned about the risk of hypothermia as the temperature was expected to drop to 10C on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Melo appealed for more blanket donations.

And it’s not just residents who are at risk.

“Our personnel were wet for five days, shivering from the cold, staying awake all night, in poor sanitary conditions, because we share the same facilities with the displaced,” said General Hertz Pires do Nascimento, commander of the Brazilian army. southern region, told reporters.

During Mass at the Vatican on Sunday, Pope Francis said he was praying for the people of the state.

Safety is another concern. Rio Grande do Sul’s public security secretariat said in a statement that police would strengthen operations to prevent looting and theft. The Brazilian National Guard is mobilizing with the state to strengthen security.

“Even a boat was stolen this morning from people working on the rescue. Jet skis and homes were looted. It’s deplorable and must be denounced,” Paulo Pimenta, Lula’s spokesperson, said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Catastrophic flooding is also likely to affect the South American country’s food supplies. Rio Grande do Sul produces 70% of a basic Brazilian food: rice.

“With the rains, I think we have definitely delayed the harvest in Rio Grande do Sul. So, if necessary to balance production, we will have to import rice, import beans,” Lula said in an interview with Brazilian public radio.

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Pessoa reported from Sao Paulo.