A country in South America is currently facing a natural disaster that becomes the reason for destruction. Several individuals have been displaced and many have lost their lives and many are suffering from serious injuries. These reports are coming from Brazil’s Southern Rio Grande do Sul where massive floods hit the country and caused havoc in the entire state. The death toll has been rising and 75 deaths have been documented over the last week. 103 people are still missing, as per a report shared by local authorities. 

The search regarding the same is ongoing and authorities are trying to locate the missing people. On Sunday, the state civil defence authorities shared a report in which they documented that destruction from the downpour also swiped more than 88,000 individuals from their homes and they all are missing. Around 16,000 took refuge in schools, gymnasiums, and other temporary shelters. The aftermath of the natural disaster caused landslides in the state. The downpour also washed out roads and collapsed bridges across the southern Rio Grande do Sul of Brazil. 

Apart from that, people faced outages in the state and communications were also cut. As per Civil Defence, approximately 800,000 people are facing water issues in the state. This report cited the figures received from water company Corsan. Meanwhile, Eduardo Leite, the Governor of the state also stated on Sunday morning, “I repeat and insist: the devastation to which we are being subjected is unprecedented.” In a previous report, the state Governor stated that the state will require a “kind of ‘Marshall Plan’ to be constructed.” 

To examine the situation within the state that happened due to heavy rainfall Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the President of Brazil visited on Sunday, 5 May 2024 for a second time in Rio Grande do Sul. He was accompanied by Finance Minister Fernando Haddad, Environmental Minister Marina Silva, and Defence Minister Jose Mucio, among others. The Brazilian President and his cabinet surveyed the flooded streets of the state capital, Porto Alegre, from a chopper. After carefully examining the flooded streets the Brazilian President informed reporters “We need to stop running behind disasters. We need to see in advance what calamities might happen and we need to work.” 

He further added that “Bureaucracy will not stand in our way, stopping us from recovering the state’s greatness. It is a war scenario, and will need post-war measures.

On Sunday morning, The Guaiba River reached a record level of 5.33m, crossing levels witnessed during a historic 1941 deluge. In 1941 the record level of the Guaiba River was reached at 4.76m. Pope Francis also prayed for the population of the state at the time of Sunday mass at the Vatican. He said, “May the Lord welcome the dead and comfort their families and those who had to abandon their homes.” 

When Was The Destruction Started In the Southern State Of Brazil? 

The reports suggested that the heavy rainfall started in Rio Grande do Sul on Monday, 29 April 2024 which lasted on Sunday, 5 May 2024. As per the report submitted on Thursday, 2 May 2024, The National Institute of Meteorology of Brazil known by the Portuguese acronym INMET said that, in some areas, such as mountain slopes, cities, and valleys more than 300mm (11.8 inches) of rain fell in less than a week.

Furthermore, Reuters cited that the death toll in the southern state of Brazil increased to 78 deaths and the number of missing people reached 115,000. In ongoing rescue efforts, volunteers are using jet skis, and boats and even risking their lives by swimming to search for missing people and to rescue those who are stuck due to heavy rainfall. 

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