PORTO ALEGRE (BRAZIL) – The Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul is on its knees: the toll is at least 75 dead, 107 missing and 95,700 displaced. Half a million homes are without electricity and 839 thousand without water. Many roads were swallowed up by mud, overwhelmed by the flood: in total, 113 were impassable.
“It is with pain that I learn of the terrible flood that hit Rio Grande do Sul, bringing the city of Porto Alegre, in Brazil, to its knees. My most sincere sympathy and that of the Italian Government to the affected populations.” She writes it in a post on X the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.
The state’s productive sector – the country’s fourth largest economy – is destroyed. For this reason, President Lula responded to the appeal of the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite, mobilizing the government to respond to the floods that brought the state to its knees where 40% of the inhabitants are of Italian descent. During his visit to the state, Lula flew over the affected area and immediately announced funds to rebuild the roads, restart operations in the port, return children to school and guarantee healthcare.
“There will be no shortage of resources for reconstruction,” he reassured. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her closeness to the “Brazilian Veneto”, as well as Pope Francis, declaring her “most sincere closeness and that of the Italian government to the affected populations”. The consul general of Porto Alegre, Valerio Caruso, spoke of an “apocalyptic scenario”.
For the Italian beach tennis world champion Alex Mingozzi, who has lived in Porto Alegre for 10 years, the situation is “catastrophic”. “I have friends who are isolated and can’t leave the house,” he told ANSA. “I have lived in Porto Alegre for 14 years and I have never seen anything like this. “It’s dramatic,” said Italian Antonio de Ruggiero, a professor of contemporary history at the Pontifical University of Rio Grande do Sul, which has become a refuge for the city’s displaced.
The tragedy in Brazil has generated emotion in Italy and the Vatican. In the Regina Caeli the Pope assured his prayers for the affected population. Prime Minister Meloni on My most sincere sympathy and that of the Italian Government to the affected populations,” she wrote.
The Italian ambassador to Brasilia, Alessandro Cortese, said he was particularly close to the region. Having recently returned from a mission in the Serra Gaucha, he defined it as “a marvelous land to which Italy is closely linked due to the indissoluble historical bonds, linguistics and traditions thanks to an Italian-Brazilian community which over the last 150 years has made a fundamental contribution to the growth of society”.
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Flood, Brazil, Giorgia Meloni, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul
