There are still 202 thousand houses without water supply in the southern state of the country which has been hit by floods in recent weeks. The lack of running water affects 21 municipalities. The impact of the floods also affects Argentina. Due to the flooding of the Uruguay river, hundreds of families have already been evacuated in the last few hours in the cities of Concordia, Santo Tomè and Paso de Los Libres in the Argentine north-east
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An endless drama. The incessant rains that are hitting Brazil have caused the biggest floods in the history of Rio Grande do Sul, a state in the south of the country. “It continues to rain and the river levels continue to rise: Lake Guaiba could reach a record of five and a half meters by the afternoon. And in Porto Alegre we could see even more serious flooding than in recent days.” These are the words of the deputy governor of the Brazilian state, Gabriel Souza, speaking to Globo News. The floods affected 21 million people in 447 cities. So far, at least 147 deaths have been recorded and 619,484 people have been displaced. Souza speaks of “maximum alert”, also warning of the risk of landslides after residents of Caxias do Sul reported earth tremors. The new flood of the Rio Cai in the meantime caused the collapse of the bridge over the river between the municipalities of Caxias do Sul and Nova Petropolis.
202 thousand homes without water supply
There are still 202 thousand homes without water supply in Rio Grande do Sul, which has been hit by floods in recent weeks. The lack of running water affects 21 municipalities. “The bad weather also hinders the carrying out of the works for the restoration of structures and systems, as well as in the reconstruction of structures such as damaged networks and water pipes”, reports the Companhia Riograndense de Saneamento (Corsan) in a note, highlighting that the plan remains active emergency to re-establish supplies in the cities as quickly as possible, while the whole country is mobilized to collect goods and donations. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva meanwhile postponed his planned trip to Chile to closely monitor the evolution of the situation.
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Brazil, flood and floods: Porto Alegre submerged by water
Freezing of reimbursement for 3 years in response to the flood
The government will suspend for three years the payment of the repayment of the debt accumulated by the state of Rio Grande do Sul with the Treasury. This was reported by the newspaper O Globo, anticipating the announcement by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expected together with other further measures in favor of the territory plagued by floods. The measure translates into 11 billion reais (2 billion euros) more available to local authorities to deal with the emergency which has already caused 147 deaths and left 617,781 people homeless. Meanwhile, governor Eduardo Leite announced that citizens affected by the flooding will immediately receive a bank transfer of 2,000 reals (360 euros). This is a first direct distribution to the population of the donations received from Brazilian civil society on the state account, amounting to 93 million reals (16.7 million euros). The beneficiaries will be all the families forced to leave their homes with an income of up to three minimum wages (4,236 reals, approximately 763 euros). According to calculations, around 45 thousand families should benefit.
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Brazil, the toll from the floods exceeds 100 deaths
Impact also in Argentina
The impact of the floods also affects Argentina. Due to the flooding of the Uruguay river, hundreds of families have already been evacuated in the last few hours in the cities of Concordia, Santo Tomè and Paso de Los Libres in the Argentine north-east. Local authorities have declared a state of emergency fearing a further increase in the level of the waterway which originates in Brazil and represents the natural border with Uruguay. Also in the neighboring country, on the other hand, the National Emergency System (Sinae) announces that nine departments are affected by the floods, with 2,436 people self-evacuated and 598 evacuated by civil protection so far.
