South still reeling from massive flooding
Area faces risk from new storms
As major floods engulfed entire cities in the northern part of the Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state last week, meteorologist Estael Sias knew the water would drain into capital Porto Alegre’s metropolitan region and that she would need to find a safe place.
So she, her husband, three children, and two dogs left everything behind. Less than 24 hours later, water started filling her neighbourhood in Canoas, now one of the state’s most affected cities.
“My house was inundated,” Sias recalled, her voice cracking. “And it was very hard to leave my house, to make my family leave.” She said she could protect her close family, but not others who insisted on staying put. “It has been very distressing and still is. I don’t know how it will be when I return home.”
Authorities in southern Brazil rushed Wednesday to rescue survivors of massive flooding that has killed at least 100 people, but some residents refused to leave belongings behind while others returned to evacuated homes despite the risk of new storms.
Heavy rains and flooding in Rio Grande do Sul since last week also have left 130 people missing, authorities said. More than 230,000 have been displaced, and much of the region has been isolated by the floodwaters.
Storms were expected in the state on Wednesday evening, with hail and wind gusts reaching up to 60 kilometres per hour, according to the national meteorology institute’s afternoon bulletin. And the institute forecasts a cold front this weekend with additional rains, to be particularly intense in the state’s north and east.
In Porto Alegre, about 300 people were sheltering at the local club Gremio Nautico Uniao, based in the upscale, little-harmed neighbourhood of Moinhos de Vento. Dozens 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 authorities’ warnings. Still, he’s anxious about his future.
“I only took my documents, three shirts, two pieces of underwear and my flip-flops. All the rest is gone,” said da Silva, 68. “I already had very little, but that stayed there. When I go home, there will be nothing. Then what?”
Staffers of the state’s civil defence agency told The Associated Press they have been struggling to persuade residents of the city of Eldorado do Sul, one of the hardest hit by the floods, to leave their homes. It is located beside Porto Alegre, near the centre of the state’s coastline. At least four people declined to evacuate.
A flyover of Eldorado do Sul in a military helicopter showed hundreds of houses submerged, with only their roofs visible. Residents were using small boards, surfboards and personal watercraft to move around. Mayor Ernani de Freitas told local journalists that the city “will be totally evacuated.”
‘‘ I already had very little, but that stayed there. When I go home, there will be nothing. Then what?
HEITOR DA SILVA PORT ALLEGRE RESIDENT WHO EVACUATED