The death toll due to heavy rains in the state of Rio Grande do Sul since April 27 has risen to 147. According to the Rio Grande do Sul Civil Defense bulletin released on Monday morning (13), 127 people are missing, and another 806 are injured.
Up until now, the floods have directly affected 2.1 million people in Rio Grande do Sul. The figure is equivalent to around a fifth of all the state's residents. Of the 497 cities in Rio Grande do Sul, only 50 were not affected by the rains. As a result, 538,241 people are homeless.
Low temperatures, windy weather and more rain
The forecast for the next few days is for a quick lull in storms from Tuesday (14), but low temperatures and windy weather. Rains may return on Thursday (16), especially in Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul’s capital city) and its metropolitan region, besides the central and northwestern areas of the state.
On Monday morning, the Guaíba River once again exceeded the levels of the devastating flood that caused similar damage in Rio Grande do Sul in 1941. The river reached 4.78 meters, suring its flood level by 1.78 meters.
Projections by the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS, in Portuguese) indicate that the Guaíba River will probably reach between 5.5 and 5.6 meters in the coming days.
“We're here to warn you about the rains, which are going to be heavy again,” said meteorologist Cátia Valente on the Civil Defense of Rio Grande do Sul's Instagram . The winds, driven by the formation of an extratropical cyclone over the sea off the coast of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina (both states part of Brazil’s southern region, together with Paraná), are expected to hit mainly the east of Rio Grande do Sul.
“Once again, there will probably be hydrological responses and, above all, mass movements, especially in the higher areas,” Valente said.
The advance of a polar air mass may cause temperatures to fall to a minimum of 10°C on Monday (13). But the cold weather will increase over the next few days. According to the National Meteorological Institute (Inmet, in Portuguese), minimum temperatures will be between 2ºC and 9ºC, with frost in the regions bordering Uruguay.
Earth tremor
Meanwhile, at dawn on Monday (13), residents of the city of Caxias do Sul, in the hills of Rio Grande do Sul, rushed out of their homes when they felt tremors downtown and in the Madureira and Universitário neighborhoods.
The Fire Brigade is advising residents to leave their homes if the walls or beams are cracked. Tremors can occur due to the soil settling under the impact of heavy rain.
In this same city, a landslide caused another death on Sunday (12). Luciano Lacava, 49, worked for two decades as a civil servant at Caxias do Sul Development Company. He was buried in the northern part of the city.
Money for reconstruction
On Sunday (12), Brazil’s Finance Minister Fernando Haddad told Brazilian news website G1 that Rio Grande do Sul could stop paying its debt to the Federal Government for two years.
The counterpart is that this money, equivalent to BRL8 billion (US$ 1.56 mi) must be invested in rebuilding the affected cities and towns. On Monday (13), Haddad met with the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite (PSDB), to discuss the issue.
However, the financial resources needed to recover from the damage still ongoing are much higher. There are towns that, having been completely submerged and constantly facing this problem, must be rebuilt elsewhere.
Cruzeiro do Sul, Roca Sales and Muçum are among them. The three are located next to the Taquari River. To rebuild these three towns, which have between 5,000 and 10,000 inhabitants, the Rio Grande do Sul government initially estimates that BRL30 billion ($5.86 bi) will be needed.
