President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated, this Thursday (2), that there will be no shortage of resources from the federal government in helping the population of Rio Grande do Sul and in rebuilding municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul hit by storms and floods since the beginning of the week.
Lula and a delegation of ministers disembarked today in Santa Maria (RS) for a working meeting with the state governor, Eduardo Leite, who classified the situation as the worst climate disaster in the history of Rio Grande do Sul.
“Everything within the reach of the federal government, whether through ministers, civil society or our military, we will dedicate 24 hours of effort so that we can meet the basic needs of the people who are isolated due to the rain,” said Lula, after the meeting.
“At first, we just have to save lives, we just have to take care of people. In the second moment, we will have to take care of carrying out an assessment of the damage and, from there, start thinking about how to find the money so that we can repair this damage”, added the president, offering solidarity to the people of Rio Grande do Sul and to the families of the victims.
The latest report from local authorities recorded 13 deaths and 21 missing people, in addition to 12 injuries. There are 132 municipalities affected and 5,321 people displaced.
According to Governor Eduardo Leite, these numbers are “absolutely preliminary” and are expected to rise. The focus of the actions is on rescuing people. “I immediately regret all the deaths that have not yet been recorded and there will be many, unfortunately, due to landslides and people who have been in inaccessible locations for 48 hours and are already asking for rescue. We are making every effort to reach each of the locations,” he said, informing that 204 municipalities are at greater risk due to rising river levels and the danger of landslides.
He recalled that in the first storms last year, rescue was possible after a lull in the rains, which has not been happening. “At this moment, we do not have this condition. Since Tuesday (20) we have mobilized what is possible, but there are still a lot of weather problems that affect the flight of aircraft and the difficulty in carrying out rescues. And this has generated very serious consequences here, which are yet to be measured,” he said, anticipating concerns about flooding in Porto Alegre, the state capital, due to the rise in the level of the Guaíba River.
According to him, the flood level should reach 4 meters (m) tomorrow (3) and, depending on the direction of the winds that can drain better or can represent the waters in Guaíba, it could reach 4.20m. In November last year, the river level reached 3.46m, the worst flood since 1941.
“I ask people to leave risk areas, leave their homes in an orderly manner while there is still time to do so, so that we can save lives at this time,” said the governor.
Since the beginning of the crisis, the federal government has mobilized to support emergency actions to help the population. Military personnel from the Armed Forces have assisted in the search and rescue of victims and in clearing roads, as well as distributing food, mattresses, water and setting up screening stations and shelters.
Governor Eduardo Leite declared a state of public calamity due to the damage caused by climate events. Classes in state schools were suspended. There are more than 150 points of road and bridge blockages and municipalities with problems in the supply of food, water, electricity and telephone services. Storms have hit Rio Grande do Sul since Monday (29) and the forecast is that the volume of rain will continue to be high in the coming days.
The state has been suffering from increasingly recurring cycles of adverse weather conditions. In the second half of last year, floods caused by heavy rains caused the Taquari River to overflow, in one of the worst floods in decades, and left a trail of destruction, material losses and around 50 deaths.
“And the second [evento] in a year that happens, so we need to start being concerned about taking care of planet Earth with much more affection, with much more love”, said President Lula.
“Nature is manifesting itself and we need to take this into account, because when nature rebels we know that the damage will be great”, he added, regarding the consequences of man’s harmful actions on the environment.
