This week, Rio Grande do Sul was the scene of an unprecedented tragedy: 57 people died as a result of the intense rains that hit the state. The storms also left a trail of destruction in basic infrastructure, which affected thousands of people from Rio Grande do Sul.
This Saturday, the 4th, the State Civil Defense updated the figures for the tragedy. There is a lack of water supply in 860,952 homes, which corresponds to 14% of the homes served by Corsan. The situation affects 281 municipalities in some way, according to the local government.
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The State faces a widespread lack of electricity, with 350,000 properties in the dark. RGE Sul, which serves 296 thousand of these addresses, states that 7.6% of its customers are without electricity. CEEE Equatorial, responsible for 54 thousand points, reported that 2.8% of the households served are impacted.
The educational scenario also suffered severely, with the suspension of activities in all 2,338 state schools. This affected almost 200,000 students. Of this total, 224 school units have structural damage, and 30 schools are being used as temporary shelters for the 8,296 homeless people.
Intense rains in Rio Grande do Sul affect local infrastructure
The communications infrastructure was not spared, with the interruption of telephone and internet services in several locations.
TIM reported problems in 63 municipalities, while Vivo and Claro face difficulties in 46 and 19 cities, respectively.
Read also: “Lago Guaíba exceeds 5 meters, Porto Alegre is flooded and municipalities go on high alert”
The state’s road network also suffered, with 128 sections of 68 roads blocked completely or partially — including 25 highways with collapsed, damaged or closed bridges due to rising rivers.
Alert in Porto Alegre
The crisis was accentuated by Lake Guaíba, in Porto Alegre, which in the early hours of Friday the 3rd reached its highest level since 1941, reaching 4.23 meters at the Mauá pier. Today, it exceeded 5 meters. This milestone significantly exceeds the warning and flood levels established for the region.
As a result, an evacuation alert was issued for residents and workers in the historic center, a densely populated area with intense commercial activity.
The tragedy spreads
In addition to devastating Rio Grande do Sul, the rains extended to Santa Catarina and Paraná. Three more deaths were recorded.
The National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) predicts the continuation of rain, with the possibility of accumulation of up to 100 mm in 24 hours and winds that can reach 100 km/h. This scenario worsens the already critical situation faced by these States.
