:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/grupoclarin/WKHZRB4MCRCVTMMR2FLC7XBZ4E.jpg "At least 59 dead due to the two storms that hit Río Grande del Sur")
The Brazilian authorities this Saturday raised the number of deaths to 59 as a result of the two storms that have hit the entire state of Rio Grande do Sul since last Monday, in southern Brazil, where at least another 67 people remain missing, according to the latest official balance sheet.
Brazil’s Civil Defense detailed that there are 281 municipalities affected by the rainfall, 8,296 people were left homeless, 74 were injured and 24,666 were evicted in total. The total number of people affected is 377,497, according to the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper.
In addition, there are 350,000 properties without electricity supply and 441,120 customers without running water service, a figure that has doubled in the last few hours. There are also 63 municipalities without telephone and internet services.
At least 59 dead due to the two storms that hit Río Grande del Sur
Local authorities suspended classes in 2,338 public schools, so there are almost 200,000 students affected. In addition, some 224 schools suffered material damage.
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Last morning the Guaíba River, in Porto Alegre, reached 4.23 meters, its highest level since 1941. In the historic center the level is 2.5 meters, when the overflow is estimated at 3 meters.
In the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, the northeast, the center-east and the center-east of Rio Grande do Sul and in the south of the state of Santa Catarina “the probability of flooding is very high.” However, the probability of flooding is “high” in the west and the mountain region of Santa Catarina and in the northwest, southwest and southeast of Rio Grande do Sul, according to Civil Defense.
Regarding landslides due to rain, there is a “very high” risk in Porto Alegre, the northeast of Rio Grande do Sul and the south of Santa Catarina and high in the Santa Catarina mountain range and in the center and northeast of Rio. Great of the South.
8 thousand rescued
The governor of Río Grande del Sur, Eduardo Leite, explained that security forces rescued a total of 8,000 individuals in a publication on his account on the social network X, formerly Twitter.
“More than 8,000 people were rescued by land and air, in the most diverse circumstances of this dramatic moment we are experiencing,” added Leite, making “a call to all those who are in a risk area to leave these places and take refuge in a safe place.”
In the same statement, the governor assured that “more than 2,000 men and women from the State security forces and at least another 1,000 from the Armed Forces” were deployed on the ground, who are “working tirelessly on the rescues.”
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Unlike the 2023 storm, when the rains were concentrated in just a few areas of this same region, this time it affected the entire territory, becoming the “biggest disaster” that the region has had to face.
In this context, the central government recognized the state of calamity decreed by local authorities, so it will be able to have access to a greater source of resources with a view to providing those affected with humanitarian assistance, as well as for the reconstruction of infrastructure and other essential services.
The central region of Porto Alegre is protected by a system of dikes and floodgates built after heavy rains that fell eight decades ago. However, there are several cities, such as Barra del Ribeiro, Eldorado del Sur and Guaíba, that will be affected by the expected floods.