In Brazil, the situation is still disastrous in the city and surrounding areas of Porto Alegre, in the south of the country. Sudden and massive floods caused the death of at least sixty people and led to the evacuation of 70,000 residents. 74 people are also missing. It is now a race against time to deal with rising water levels.
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The precipitation begins to weaken, but the water continues to rise. The Guaiba River which flows through Porto Alegre has reached a record level of 5 meters. Unheard of in the Brazilian city where more than 1.5 million people live.
The center of the city is completely flooded with ever more dramatic consequences. In addition to the evacuated people, more than a million homes are deprived of water and the extent of the damage is currently incalculable by the authorities’ own admission. .
Now, they fear the possibility of landslides and are worried about possible supply problems for the affected populations. The city of Porto Alegre is partially cut off from the rest of the country, bus connections are interrupted and the airport has had to be closed. According to a climatologist cited by Agence France Presse, these torrential rains caused a disastrous cocktail mixing the El Niño phenomenon with climate change.
Lula expected this Sunday in the region
Brazilian President Lula is expected in the region this Sunday. He is expected to meet the governor of the state of Rio Grande do Soul, who has already called for a “Marshall Plan” to rebuild the devastated region.
This Sunday will be a “ key day » for relief operations, declared the Minister of Communication of the Presidency, Paulo Pimenta. Concern is also starting to rise about the lack of food and the breakdown of production chains in this agricultural state, one of the most dynamic in Brazil and which accounts for a fifth of the country’s GDP.
Faced with the risk of shortages, the mayor of Porto Alegre, Sebastiao Melo, called on the population to ration water after the forced closure of four of the city’s six water treatment plants.
Read alsoBrazil: several dozen deaths in the south due to bad weather