Downpours hit southern Brazil. In the state of Rio Grande do Sul, floods have already affected about 200,000 people since last week. Water entered houses and shops, leaving residents homeless and without sources of income. At least four people died.
Heavy rains hit southern Brazil last week. Flooding affected the southern state of Santa Catarina, but the difficult situation is not only in this region. Rivers have swollen dangerously and in some places they have also flooded, including in Rio Grande do Sul, bordering with Uruguay.
The state government said on Monday that four people had died in the floods. In addition to the deaths, state agencies recorded 63 injured and more than 10,000 people who had to seek temporary shelter with relatives or in shelters. In total, the floods directly or indirectly affected approximately 200,000 inhabitants of the region.
“We almost drowned”
As reported by Reuters, severe flooding occurred in the city of Sao Sebastiao do Cai, located on the Cai River. On Saturday, heavy rains passed over the city, causing flooding of parts of the city.
– Water has never reached my shop before, but this time it entered to a height of 1.5 meters. I lost almost everything, said one of the local entrepreneurs.
– This street was full of water, with a very strong current. Our boat capsized on this street and we almost drowned, said another city resident when asked about the evacuation process.
The situation is also difficult in Porto Alegre, the state capital. High water levels were recorded in Lake Guaiba, adjacent to the metropolis, into which many swollen rivers flow. The high level of the reservoir was also influenced by the weather conditions over the last few months. According to the Brazilian National Institute of Meteorology, Porto Alegre recorded the third wettest winter since 1961 this year – rainfall reached 652.2 liters of water per square meter, well above the seasonal average of 435.5 l/sq m.
Main photo source: Reuters