The death toll caused by the floods that hit the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul has risen to 107 deaths. The bulletin issued by the Civil Protection on Thursday evening also reports 136 missing and 374 injured.
According to updated data, almost one and a half million people (out of the total 11.4 million inhabitants of the State) suffered damage due to the wave of bad weather which hit – with varying intensity – 425 of the 497 municipalities. So far, 232,125 inhabitants have been forced to leave their homes, of which 67,542 are hosted in emergency facilities made available by the authorities.
Meanwhile, on Friday the government of Rio Grande do Sul estimated the cost of rebuilding infrastructure and supporting the population and local economy in the southern Brazilian state at 18,839 billion reais (around 3.4 billion francs). , hit by the most severe floods ever recorded.
The preliminary budget of the cost of reconstruction was presented by Governor Eduardo Leite and also includes financial needs for the response to the crisis. The authorities estimate that it will be necessary to invest at least 4,971 million reais (around 900 million francs) in the rehabilitation of homes and allocate another 2,642 million reais (500 million francs) for schools. Instead, the amount expected for the reconstruction of transport-related infrastructures (roads and bridges) is approximately 1.5 billion francs.
