According to the Joaquim Felizardo museum, the level of Guaíba reached 4.75 meters — according to CNN, some publications even speak of 4.76 meters.
Around 70 thousand people were left homeless. This number is equivalent to approximately a quarter of the population of the capital of Rio Grande do Sul at the time, which was 272 thousand inhabitants. With classes suspended, the city’s schools turned into shelters.
Architect Elenara Stein Leitão shared with the newspaper O Globo a 1941 letter written by her mother, Helena Silva Stein, during the tragedy. In the report, the then 16-year-old girl tells details of the historic flood: “The trains stopped and the telegraph stopped. We were simply isolated from the interior. Cinemas, schools, the Faculty of Medicine and Law were full of victims and the government supported all the staff .”
The city was in the dark for several days, without water, without milk, without newspapers, it was really scary!
Letter written by Helena Silva Stein published by the newspaper O Globo
Islanded city. The flood hit the port, train station and municipal airport. According to the museum, one of the most critical moments of the episode was when the water reached the Usina do Gasologista and left Porto Alegre without electricity. After the blackout, the water supply was also interrupted.
