Although Porto Alegre has had clear skies since Sunday, the water level remains high, flooding areas that had not been affected until now.
Residents of the neighborhoods of Cidade Baixa, in the center of the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, and Menino Deus, in the south zone, had to evacuate the regions after the city hall’s drainage pumps were flooded and ended up being turned off for safety reasons.
These pumps are responsible for removing the water and throwing it back into the Guaíba River, which is 5.27 meters above the flood level.
With the shutdown, the streets, cars, houses and businesses in the neighborhoods were taken over by water in less than half an hour.
“I just got the main thing and I’m going back to work,” said one resident.
“It was time to pick up things and get out of the house,” said another resident, inside the flooded house.
Security teams went to the site to help with the evacuation, with the recommendation that residents seek safe places and shelters.
On Tuesday afternoon, a power generator began to be installed to resume operation of the water pumps.
Report card
Until this morning (7), around 80% of the municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul had already been affected by heavy rains, according to a bulletin from the state Civil Defense. The balance also points to 90 confirmed deaths resulting from the storms and four other deaths under investigation.
