The Civil Defense of Rio Grande do Sul issued an alert, this Thursday (2/5), for residents of areas adjacent to the Caí River to leave their homes, as the river’s water level will exceed the flood level in the next hours. The state has been suffering from heavy rains since Monday (29/4).
The governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite (PSDB), reinforced the Civil Defense recommendation through social media. On X (formerly Twitter), Leite wrote that residents of the cities listed, such as São Francisco de Paula, Canela, Gramado, Nova Petrópolis, Vale Real and Feliz, “must leave home”.
The Defense notice recommends that residents of areas close to the river in these municipalities seek public shelters or alternative places to stay during the Caí River level rise. The rains that hit the state have already killed 13 people in total.
“People who do not have alternative locations should seek information from their city’s Civil Defense about public shelters provided by city halls, escape routes and security points”, says an excerpt from the statement.
Heavy rains in Rio Grande do Sul
According to a bulletin released at 12pm this Thursday, the floods in RS left 13 dead, 12 injured and 67,860 people affected. Of these, 4,599 are in shelters, and 9,993 are homeless.
There are still 21 people missing in the cities of Candelária (8), Encantado (6), Passa Sete (1), Roca Sales (4) and São Vendelino (2). In total, 147 municipalities were affected by heavy rainfall in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
According to the most recent update from the Civil Defense of Rio Grande do Sul, the victims are:
- Paverama: two men, aged 69 and 65. They were occupants of a vehicle trying to cross a flooded area;
- Big Swamp: a 59 year old man. He died after suffering an electrical shock;
- Itara: a 48 year old woman. There is still no information about the circumstances of death;
- Charmed: a 45-year-old woman and an unidentified person. There is no information about the circumstances of the deaths;
- Salvador do Sul: a 47-year-old man and an unidentified person. The man died due to a landslide;
- São João do Polêsine: a person not yet identified;
- Secret: a 62 year old man. He was the occupant of a vehicle that was trying to cross a flooded area;
- Santa Cruz do Sul: a person not yet identified;
- Santa Maria: an 85-year-old woman and an as-yet-unidentified person. She died due to landslide;
- Silveira Martins: a person not yet identified.
