Residents of RR report difficulties escaping floods in Rio Grande do Sul

Due to the rains that have hit Rio Grande do Sul since last week, the state has already recorded 90 deaths, 132 missing and 361 injured, according to the latest Civil Defense bulletin. In total, around 1.3 million people were impacted by the storm, as 388 of its 497 municipalities were affected in some way.

The situation impacted not only residents, many of whom are in shelters or displaced, but also tourists who were passing through the region and faced difficult times getting back home. This is the case of Ana Paula Fonseca and Magaly Rocha, residents of Roraima who were in Gramado, in the Serra Gaucha, when the water reached the place.

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Lawyer Ana Paula reported that she arrived in Caxias do Sul, on the 1st, to travel by car to Gramado, in order to participate in a congress. The difficulties began at the beginning of the trip, when she was informed that the common road to the city was closed. After following another road, she came across a traffic jam, as the road was also closed due to the collapse of a nearby dam.

“I spoke to people who were stuck there in traffic too and one of them suggested another alternative route. I continued following the car and, on the track, there were fallen trees and completely flooded areas. I saw a car that had hit a tree and was abandoned. At that time I was worried, but I continued on the way until I arrived in Gramado,” she said.

After arriving in the city, Ana Paula was informed that the congress had been postponed. As the return flight was scheduled for this Tuesday (7), the lawyer said that she decided to continue in Gramado to sightsee, even with some tourist attractions closed. However, on Friday (3), she realized that the situation had worsened to the point where deaths were recorded in the municipality.

“The rural regions near Gramado started to flood and the news only got worse, which made me afraid. I found out that people were going to Florianópolis by car and I organized myself, together with the girls who were also there for the congress, to do this. After we arrived in Santa Catarina, it was sunny and calm, I felt much safer,” she said.

Ana Paula revealed that she felt fear and anxiety about the situation. She also said that, in the garage of the hotel where she was staying, the water reached her knees. Now, in Florianópolis, she managed to change her flight and will leave the South this Wednesday (8).

“What made me most distressed was the uncertainty of not knowing where to go or what to do, news and reports from residents of the region, who said they had never seen a situation like that. We were afraid something would happen, we couldn’t sleep well, but I tried to maintain emotional stability. I’m happy to be safe, but it’s a very sad situation,” she said.

The lawyer’s report is similar to that of neuropsychologist Magaly Rocha, who traveled to Gramado on a trip with her family and had to leave there due to flooding. Just like Ana Paula, Magaly’s family managed to travel to Florianópolis.

“We arrived on the 29th in Gramado. We should have returned to Boa Vista on Monday [6]but we left Gramado on Thursday [2] for fear of the blockades and because there was no longer power in the hotel. There was no internet in several parts of the city and the information was that it was going to get worse,” he reported.

According to Magaly, when she and her family arrived in Porto Alegre, they went to a hotel, but the next day it was necessary to change, as the water had already arrived the day before. They return to Roraima this Tuesday (7).

“We went to another location and left yesterday [6] from there. Today we saw an article that there was an evacuation order in the neighborhood around our hotel. We chose not to film or photograph anything. The situation was bad and the residents were in a lot of suffering”, he pointed out.

“Feeling of helplessness”

Born and raised in Novo Hamburgo, Neia Dutra, from Rio Grande do Sul, who lives in Roraima, reported her anguish in hearing reports from family members who were harmed by the rains. She stated that her sister, from the city of Cachoeira do Sul, lost everything in the floods.

“I have nephews who lost some things too. My aunt, from the Três Coroas region, saw the water wash away her house. My mother’s was not hit and she is safe, so she is sheltering two families who lost everything. In other regions, everything is flooded,” she said.

Despite not being able to go to Rio Grande do Sul, Neia commented that she tries to help her family and friends from a distance, whether by communicating with authorities or checking accessible roads. The journalist plans to go to the state, as soon as possible, to work on the front line as a volunteer. “It gives me a feeling of great helplessness to see the place where I was born like this and not being able to be there to help.”