VIDEO: human cordon in Canoas rescues stranded people in an emotional scene

Written in BRAZIL he 5/5/2024 · 12:31 pm

Amid the tragedy caused by the floods in Rio Grande do Sul, which have already left dozens of people dead and thousands homeless, a scene that occurred in the early hours of this Saturday (4), in the municipality of Canoas, has moved people social networks in Brazil and around the world.

The incident occurred around midnight, in Mathias Velho neighborhood. Volunteers with water up to their waists formed a kind of “human cord” to pull boats bringing people stranded by the floods.

The scene was repeated several times and, each time the operation was successful, everything was celebrated by applause.

See videos below:

The tragedy

In Rio Grande do Sul things only get worse. This is the fourth climate disaster to hit the state in less than a year. Last year, tragedies occurred in June, September and November, leaving a combined 75 people dead.

In the current case, this alone already has 55 deaths, 74 missing and 107 injured people and 82.5 thousand people away from home. Of these, 13.3 thousand are in shelters and 69.2 thousand are homeless in the homes of family or friends.

In total, 317 of the state’s 496 municipalities recorded some type of problem, affecting 510.5 thousand people.

According to the governor Eduardo Leite (PSDB), this is the “state’s biggest climate disaster.” The level of the Guaíba, in Porto Alegre, exceeded 5 meters and far exceeded the level of the historic flood of 1941, which was 4.76 meters.

“More than 150 points of bridges, roads that were broken, landslides and many others that are yet to happen. It is already and will be the worst climate disaster in our state, and we need to avoid loss of lives at this time”, said the governor.

Extreme flooding

The Civil Defense of Rio Grande do Sul released an alert of “extreme flooding” in the Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre in the early evening of Saturday (4). With the warning, he also published a map showing the risk areas and asked residents to evacuate the region.

“Seek information from your city’s Civil Defense regarding public shelters, escape routes and do not cross floods on foot, or even by car. Provide assistance to vulnerable people, supporting the movement of elderly people, sick people or people with mobility difficulties. If you are unable to take your pets with you, leave them without their leashes in open places,” says the agency’s appeal.