Brazil floods: Death toll rises to 66 as rescue workers continue to work to avert major tragedy

at least 66 people died and 101 are missing in southern BrazilCivil Defense said on Sunday that, which is facing devastation due to floods after heavy rains.

In Rio Grande do Sulmore than 80,000 people have been evicted And 15,000 are in shelters have been set up by authorities in the state, while many remain in their homes awaiting rescue.

From flooded streets or from the air, the images are devastating: Houses whose roofs are barely visibleThe people who lost everything, and the center of modern Porto AlegreThe capital, home to 14 lakh people, was completely submerged in floods.

It has been raining intermittently since Sunday morning Porto Alegre, But the water moves unchecked over the metropolis.

According to the mayor’s office, the level of Guaiba River Located in the city, it measures 5.30 metres, higher than the record of 4.76 metres, recorded during the historic flood in 1941.

journalists from AFP they found one Increase in the number of flood affected areas, saturday night, popular in Sarandi neighborhoodThe parking lot for trucks and road machinery was completely covered with red water, and the roofs of vehicles were barely visible.

There are 15,000 people in shelters More than one million homes in the area have no water, According to Civil Defence, the destruction is incurable.

Governor Eduardo Leitewho will receive the President this Sunday Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva For the second time since the tragedy was declared, he described the situation as “dramatic” And “Absolutely phenomenal.”

on Sunday “This will be an important day for the rescue”said Paulo Pimenta, Minister of Communications of the Presidency.

scenes of People on rooftops waiting for helpOn roads and paths there is oft-repeated talk of small boats and canoes crossing rivers, or of 4×4 trucks assisting in impossible crossings.

The state will require some kind of “Marshall Plan” Rebuilding will be done, Governor Leight said.

But this will happen after the water recedes and the rain stops.

Now The concern is about the continuity of food supply and productive chains This agricultural state has the fifth highest GDP in Brazil and one of the most prosperous states in the country.

Mayor of Porto Alegre, sebastiao meloUrging the population to ration water, following the closure of four of the city’s six treatment plants.

an extraordinary situation Porto Alegre is practically under siege.

Road police indicated AFP That access from the south has been cut off by about 15 km, while it is still possible to reach the city from the north.

Porto Alegre International Airport suspended its operations indefinitely on Friday.

Electricity is also disappearing in areas.

The number of missing people is increasing. they are already 101 people. And 155 were injured.

But the isolation of some municipalities raises fears of even more tragic figures.

disaster forced 80,500 people will have to leave their homesAccording to the latest civil defense report on Sunday.

from the Vatican, The Pope “prayed for the population of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul.” In the grip of severe flood. The Lord has the deceased in his heart, he consoles the family members and those who had to leave their homes,” the Pope said.

HeThat’s the “disastrous cocktail” of climate change and meteorological phenomena Boy which supported the devastating rains and other extreme events that occurred in the south of Brazil, assured AFP Brazilian climatologist Francisco Eliseu Aquino.

Porto Alegre, a city founded by Portuguese immigrants in 1772 and located in the middle of great watershedIt was developed under the influence of its port, which was key to Brazil’s development, the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) reports on its website.

Today that blessing turned into misfortune.

(With information from AFP)