Since June last year, at least 114 people have died in Rio Grande do Sul following incidents related to rain. This week, the state was once again hit by storms, which have already left 39 people dead, according to a report released by Civil Defense late last Friday afternoon (3).
The 39 deaths confirmed since last Monday (29) occurred in 23 municipalities. The central area of the state and the regions of the Jacuí, Taquari and Caí river valleys were the most affected.
In total, the state has 265 municipalities affected by the rains. There are 351,639 people impacted in some way by the events, of which 24,080 are homeless and 8,168 had to go to shelters.
Before the events that began this week, Rio Grande do Sul recorded five deaths related to rain in November 2023. The deaths occurred in Eldorado do Sul (about 50 kilometers from Porto Alegre); Gramado and Vila Flores, in Serra Gaúcha; and in Giruá, in the north of the state. At the same time, there were also deaths as a result of weather events in Santa Catarina.
In September last year, 54 deaths were recorded in Vale do Taquari after the region was affected by the passage of an extratropical cyclone. The cities that had the highest number of fatalities at the time were Muçum, Roca Sales and Cruzeiro do Sul.
In June 2023, another extratropical cyclone hit Rio Grande do Sul and left 16 people dead. Until then, this had been the climate event with the highest number of deaths in the state since 1980.
See the death numbers:
- June 2023: 16
- September 2023: 54
- November 2023: 5
- April/May 2024: 39 (so far)
Death toll could rise
On Wednesday (1st) the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite (PSDB), stated that the number of deaths due to the rains tends to increase and that the state will experience “the biggest disaster ever faced” by the people of Rio Grande do Sul.
“The difference from what happened last year is that, at a critical moment, in the Taquari Valley, we had a flood, but then the weather allowed us to enter the field to provide assistance, rescue, and save hundreds of lives in those conditions. Currently, we are having a lot of difficulties getting teams into the field, whether from the Army, the Military Brigade, or the Fire Department. We are having a lot of difficulty carrying out rescues.”
In Porto Alegre –where no deaths have yet been recorded–, Lake Guaíba has already overflowed, causing flooding in several parts of the city.
According to Civil Defense projections, the lake level should exceed that recorded during the historic flood of 1941, reaching 5 meters.
State should have more rain
The National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) issued a warning of great danger, valid until noon this Saturday (4), of great danger related to the accumulation of rain in part of the state, also reaching Santa Catarina.
The possibility, according to the institute, is of rain exceeding 60 mm/h or above 100 mm/day. There is a great risk of major flooding and river overflows, major landslides.
There is also another alert from Inmet, also valid until tomorrow, for potential danger related to intense rain in parts of the state, including the central portion and the central region of Porto Alegre. The forecast is for rain between 20 and 30 mm/h or up to 50 mm/day, in addition to intense winds (40 to 60 km/h).
See images of the flood in Porto Alegre:
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
