Flooding toll in Brazil crosses 100, search ops hampered by storms
PORTO ALEGRE, BRAZIL: The death toll from devastating floods that have ravaged southern Brazil for days surpassed 100 on Wednesday, authorities said, as the search for dozens of missing people was interrupted by fresh storms.
Some 400 municipalities have been affected by the worst natural calamity ever to hit the state of Rio Grande do Sul, with hundreds of people injured and more than 160,000 forced from their homes.
Many have no access to drinking water or electricity — or even the means to call for help, with telephone and internet services down in many places.
On Tuesday, state governor Eduardo Leite had warned the human toll was likely to rise as “the emergency is continuing to develop” in the state capital of Porto Alegre and other cities and towns.
Some 15,000 soldiers, firefighters, police and volunteers were at work across the state, many in boats and jet skis, to rescue those trapped and transport aid.
But in Porto Alegre the rains returned on Wednesday, halting evacuation efforts.
The mayor’s office urged rescue boats to suspend their activities, citing the risk of electric shocks from lightning and strong winds of over 80 kilometers per hour.
Authorities urged people not to return to affected areas due to possible landslide and health hazards.
“Contaminated water can transmit diseases,” civil defence spokeswoman Sabrina Ribas warned on Wednesday.
Many people have been loath to leave their homes for the safety of shelters amid reports of abandoned properties being looted.
The National Confederation of Municipalities said about 61,000 homes — down from an earlier estimate of 100,000 — had been damaged or destroyed by unprecedented rains and floods in the state, with losses estimated at about 6.3 billion reais (some $1.2 billion.)
Damage to schools, hospitals and municipal buildings amounted to about $69 million.
Porto Alegre is home to about 1.4 million people and the larger metropolitan area has more than double that number.
The state’s Guaiba River, which runs through Porto Alegre, reached historic levels and five dams are at risk of rupturing, with two of them in “imminent” danger.
There were queues at public taps and wells as officials warned that the most urgent need for people stranded by impassable roads, collapsed bridges and flooded homes was drinking water.
Only two of Porto Alegre’s six water treatment plants were functioning, the mayor’s office said on Tuesday, and hospitals and shelters were being supplied by tankers.
Helicopters were delivering water and food to communities most in need, while work continued on restoring road access.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has vowed there would be “no lack of resources to meet the needs of Rio Grande do Sul”.