MST announces campaign to support flood victims in Rio Grande do Sul

Written in BRAZIL he 4/5/2024 · 4:44 pm

The Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) announced this Saturday (4) the launch of a broad solidarity campaign for the population of Rio Grande do Sul affected by the climate crisis resulting from the rains that hit the state.

The people of Rio Grande do Sul are experiencing a public calamity never seen before in their history. It is still not possible to measure the volume of the water catastrophe that has already left dozens of deaths, isolation of hundreds of cities, landslides, falling barriers and flooding in what is already considered the biggest flood to date in the state.

The MST points out that the objective of the campaign is to organize a joint effort to raise financial resources to contribute to actions in the municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul.

In a bulletin released late this morning, Civil Defense updated the number of deaths as a result of the floods in Rio Grande do Sul to 56. There are still 67 missing, 74 injured, 32,962 people away from home, 8,296 people in shelters and 24,666 homeless .

In total, 281 of the state’s 496 municipalities recorded some type of problem, affecting 377,497 thousand people.

Affected settlements

The largest social movement in the world also reported that around 300 rice-producing families were affected by the tragedy. All from Irga (Instituto Rio Grandense do Arroz). Settlers close to the headquarters of the Cooperative of Settled Workers of the Porto Alegre Region (Cootap), in Eldorado do Sul, are being rescued.

Credits: Wesley Lima/MST-RS

“The rescue started being carried out by the settlers themselves, now it can only be followed by the Army and Civil Defense. Families are being taken to settlements in the region where water has not reached their homes”, says a note from the MST.

According to the movement, the damage is still incalculable. House structures, furniture, souvenirs, rice production and agroecological gardens were lost. In the latter cases, the farmers had already replanted after the flood at the end of last year. Families remain in collective shelters during this period.

Credits: Wesley Lima/MST-RS

The settlements of Nova Santa Rita, Viamão and Tapes also suffered losses in their rice and vegetable production. Inland, in the municipalities of São Gabriel, Hulha Negra, Jóia and the Central Region, water is also covering roads and crops.

Credits: Wesley Lima/MST-RS