Truck driver Mateus Souza from Xanxerê, West of Santa Catarina, is stranded in Santa Cruz do Sul, in Rio Grande do Sul, due to the heavy rains hitting the state of Rio Grande do Sul. He arrived in the region on Monday (2) and doesn’t know when he will be able to leave the place.
The truck driver is on RS-412 in Santa Cruz do Sul. He doesn’t know when he will be able to return to SC – Personal Archive/ND
Mateus has been a truck driver for over 10 years. He lives in Xanxerê and is isolated in RS – Personal Archive/ND
The resident of the São Jorge neighborhood reports that he has been in the profession for more than 10 years and has never been in this situation. “We are not sure of anything, it is a feeling of impotence. We don’t know if we’re going one way or another and there’s no way to leave the truck here,” he explains.
He is stopped on RS-412 with around 40 other truck drivers. “Thank God we had plenty of food in the truck and the people are supporting us,” he says.
However, some drivers do not have a kitchen box and rely on help from the community and colleagues. “People bring us packed lunches and water.”
Mateus followed his normal routine, he loaded the truck with bran in Lagoa Vermelha and got off with the load in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. “We went down on Monday. On Tuesday we were faced with these situations,” he reports.
First information
The first information was a little inconsistent and the highways began to be blocked. Mateus arrived in Sinimbu, one of the municipalities most affected by the rains.
The truck driver was trapped in the municipality on Tuesday (30th) and on Wednesday (1st) the mountain was cleared. However, he had no internet, no electricity and no more information about other cities. “We arrived in Santa Cruz, we didn’t know the place was even worse.”
The distance between the Santa Catarina city of Xanxerê, where Mateus lives, and Santa Cruz do Sul, where he is islanded, is around 430 km.
Islanded truck drivers
He says that several truck drivers are stranded on the highway. The bridge to Santa Maria and the bridge to Lajeado collapsed and the road that goes to Rio Pardo was eroded and “the water washed it away”, says Mateus.
Returning to Sinimbu is not an option and the truck is loaded, so it can skate on the dirt roads. “It hasn’t stopped raining for a minute since Monday and people can’t move on the roads because the weather doesn’t let up,” he says.
Rio Grande do Sul declared a state of public calamity valid for 180 days. “What we see here is very sad. There are people trapped inside, because the bridges have collapsed, roads have disappeared and there is no way to rescue them. It’s a very sad thing”, adds Mateus.
Contact with family
The truck driver only managed to contact the family in Xanxerê on Wednesday afternoon. The signal is still not good, but he can send news. Mateus is the father of a three-year-old girl and a six-year-old boy. “But with faith in God, everything will be fine”, he concludes.
Check out the video of the truck driver on the roads in RS
Mateus shows the reality of the roads in the state of Rio Grande do Sul due to the rain – Video: Personal Archive/ND
Situation in Rio Grande do Sul
At around 12pm this Friday (3) the RS Government released updates on the situation in the state. In total, 235 municipalities were affected, 7,949 people are in shelters, 23,598 are homeless and 351,639 were affected.
The State confirmed 37 deaths from the rains, 74 injured and 74 missing.
