Brazil: river overflows and rain leave 56 dead and 74 missing

The authorities of Brazil confirmed this Saturday that rains and river overflows in the south of the country caused at least 56 deaths and a total of 74 missing.

Another 7 deaths recorded in areas affected by the floods could be added to the list of victims, but authorities are still investigating whether the cause of these deaths is related to the rains, according to Civil Defense.

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The most affected state is Rio Grande do Sul, which borders Uruguay and Argentina, where there are 55 confirmed deaths, while one death was recorded in the neighboring state of Santa Catarina.

A total of 82,566 people had to leave their homes in Rio Grande do Sulof which 13,324 remain in public shelters.

The governor of Rio Grande do SulEduardo Leite said at a press conference that “the rain has started to let up”, but anticipated that the region will face difficulties for several days, until the rivers return to their channel, and then, economic help will be needed to recover.

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“Rio Grande do Sul will need a Marshall recovery plan,” said Leite in a speech alongside the Minister of Social Communication, Paulo Pimenta.

The minister said that this Sunday will be “a decisive day for the rescues” of people who are isolated and for understanding the evolution of the crisis, which began last Monday with an unusually high volume of rain, which raised the level of numerous rivers. in the region.

The most critical areas at the moment are registered in the cities of Canoas, Eldorado and the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, the regional capital, where the Guaíba River reached historic levels and caused flooding in several neighborhoods.

The floods caused the deaths of 57 people in the state, in addition to another victim in the neighboring state of Santa Catarina. Furthermore, in Rio Grande do Sul there are 67 people missing, in addition to 32,640 people who had to leave their homes to live with relatives and friends and another 9,581 who were transferred to public shelters. Photo: Isaac Fontana/EFE (Isaac Fontana/)

Porto Alegre, a city of 1.3 million inhabitants, is isolated from the rest of the country both by road and by plane, as the international airport suspended its operations on Friday night and remains closed.

To the floods They have not been greater in the regional capital because some five-meter-high floodgates built in the port area were closed and are activated during major floods on the Guaíba, which happens very rarely.

The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvawill travel this Sunday to Porto Alegre for the second time since the beginning of the crisis, after the trip he made last Thursday, to supervise rescue tasks and aid distribution.

In the last year, southern Brazil has suffered a series of extreme weather events associated with El Niño phenomenonwhich causes an increase in rainfall in this part of the country.

Source: Elcomercio