At least Ten people died and 21 are missing due to the intense rains recorded in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil. The serious floods also left scenes of terror: houses swept away by the fury of the water, destroyed roads and even neighbors trapped for hours.
The flooding began on Monday, after a series of storms and heavy rainfall in the region. According to Civil Defense, as of Wednesday, 3,393 people had to be evacuated in more than 100 municipalities in the state, whose authorities opened shelters to house affected residents.
Due to the delicate situation of the area, President Lula da Silva will travel this Thursday to survey the affected areas and make themselves available to the rescue team.
“Today I spoke again with Governor Eduardo Leite of Rio Grande do Sul to learn about the situation of the heavy rains in the state. Tomorrow I will personally go to the south to check the situation and the joint work of the ministers with the state government,” he posted Lula on his X account.
Governor Leite speaks of “the worst tragedy in history” in the state and requested help from the Lula Government for reconstruction. In addition, he anticipated that meteorological instability will continue in the coming days, so rainfall will reach unprecedented measurements.
The authorities confirmed that the deaths were recorded in the towns of Encantado, Itaara, Pantano Grande, Paverama, Salvador do Sul, Santa Cruz do Sul, Santa María and Segredo.
The accumulated rains also had consequences on the stability of the soil. In Sao Vendelino, the loosening of the land caused an avalanche that buried cars and left a father and son missing.
Security cameras and motorists who were on Route 122 this Tuesday afternoon recorded the exact moment of the landslide and also showed how the place was left. There you can see teams from the road concessionaire working to free a bridge that had been blocked since the morning. Suddenly, the alert was turned on by the roar that came down from the nose and that, with it, brought an avalanche that swept away everything in its path.
The motorists, some at a stop a few meters from where the avalanche occurred, ran in search of shelter. But at least two people – a father and his son – were buried in the ground. Firefighters are still working to rescue them alive.
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It happened in Sao Vendelino, in Rio Grande do Sul. The intense rains loosened the soil and, in the middle of an emergency operation, a landslide caused terror.
The persistent rainfall left isolated localities. The authorities asked citizens to evacuate homes if they are near rivers or hills, in a situation of extreme danger that has already left gigantic material damage.
The routes were interrupted in more than 60 points due to landslides, flooding or asphalt subsidence. In addition, social media users recorded disastrous scenes. In one of them you can see a house uprooted by the force of the water and then carried away by the current.
The Armed Forces deployed aircraft capable of performing night flights to undertake rescues in difficult-to-access areas.
Throughout the state, about 130,000 people are without drinking water and telephone and internet services are interrupted in at least 60 municipalities. Classes were suspended throughout the state to avoid greater risk.
For its part, Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology indicated that the total volume of rain may exceed 100 millimeters in the next 24 hours in Rio Grande do Sul and the neighboring state of Santa Catarina, also in the south.
He was trapped, left without a cell phone and his friends rescued him after 15 hours
Emergency teams organized rescue efforts for people who were trapped in their homes (in Candelaria, one of the towns hardest hit by the floods, there are more than a hundred people trapped). Also to save people who were surprised by the water when they were inside their car. The most spectacular case involved a man who could not get out of his vehicle and who managed to be rescued by four friends after 15 hours isolation and risk of death.
Desperate and surrounded by the violence of the water, the man called his wife for help, but the phone signal was bad and his cell phone got wet, so he was unable to share his exact location. He only went so far as to state that the car was leaning against a tree with a firm trunk and that he he sat with his feet on the window. This is how he spent fifteen hours until they could help him.
“When you’re alone, you start to reflect. You start to think, to think… Whether you like it or not, it was a rebirth. Any hesitation would have been fatal,” said Claiton, 53, the rescued man, in statements recorded Or Globe.
The man was located near a bridge over the Botucaraí River. The records show him on top of the car, which was submerged, with a strong current of water. Using life jackets and ropes, the group of friends managed to rescue the man, who emerged unharmed.
