See what Arroio do Meio looked like after the Taquari River flooded: ‘We lost everything’, says mother who was reunited with her daughter after 15 days | Rio Grande do Sul

Images show Arroio do Meio after the Taquari River floods

The images show rubble, branches It is poles thrown on the floor. Some houses were destroyed. Watch the video above.

Commercial representative Fernanda Ferreira had traveled to Uruguay shortly before the flood. The woman he had not been able to return to the city to find his daughter, whom he had not seen for 15 days. See the testimonial below.

“She was rescued by helicopter at her father’s house, with the grace of God. And it was only today that I managed to get my daughter. We lost everything”, he says.

‘We lost everything’, says resident who reunited with her daughter after 15 days in Arroio do Meio

Arroio do Meio has 13 thousand people outside their homes, 1.4 thousand of whom are homeless.

A bridge on ERS-130 passed over the Forqueta River, on the connection between Arroio do Meio and Lajeado. The waters rose to almost 40 meters and destroyed the crossing. Now a ferry takes residents to the town of Barra da Forqueta.

The Brazilian Army plans to build a temporary bridge in the next 10 days, approximately a few kilometers from the site. The structure must support vehicles weighing up to 70 tons.

Those who live in cities in the Taquari Valley and have passed through the recently opened roads no longer recognize what is left. Cruzeiro do Sul was devastated by the force of the water. Businessman Ismael Fonseca was rescued after two days on the island. All that was left of his house were the walls.

“There is no way we can live here again. Our house is destroyed. Our son is seven years old, we raised him here. Everything we have here, we built by working hard. We have it here, but we are not going to die here. We’re not going back here,” he says.

Residents of the interior of Taquari, close to the mouth of the river, were caught by surprise when they entered the Nossa da Assunção Sanctuary to clean the church after the space had flooded: they found an ox on the altar.

According to Samuel Calkmann, who recorded the video, the animal’s owner is his father-in-law, who lost the animal when it was in the open field during the storms. The river rose more than 30 meters and the suspicion is that the ox was taken there by the water. The animal was rescued and returned to its owner.

Bull is found inside church after river flood in Taquari

RS has 428 of its 497 municipalities with some report of problems related to the stormwith 1.482 million people affected.

• Friday (10): rains spread across the state, being more intense in the Center, North, Northeast, Valleys, Metropolitan Region and North Coast (volumes of up to 120 millimeters); southerly winds and rough seas
• Saturday (11): rainfall remains strong and persistent between 40 and 90 millimeters, in the same regions; winds remain in the southern quadrant and rough seas.
• Sunday (12): rainfall remains intense with volumes between 80 and 140 millimeters; southeast/east winds and rough seas
• Monday (13): locally heavy rains persist in these regions

Cold front and new rains worry Rio Grande do Sul; death toll reaches 107