2023-09-07 02:25:42
Mucum was one of the areas most affected by the floods.
Floods triggered by a cyclone in southern Brazil have swept away homes, trapped motorists in their vehicles and inundated the streets of several cities, killing at least 31 people and rendering 1,600 homeless, authorities said Wednesday.
More than 60 cities have been affected by the storm since Monday night, and Rio Grande do Sul state governor Eduardo Leite said the death toll is the highest caused by a weather phenomenon in the region.
“The overflight that we have just done shows the dimension of an event that is absolutely out of the ordinary,” Leite said in a video posted on the state’s social media accounts.
“Not only riverside communities were affected, but entire cities that were completely compromised,” he added.
Videos recorded by rescue teams on Tuesday and published by the G1 news site showed families on the roofs of their homes asking for help as rivers flooded their banks.
Some areas were left completely isolated following wide avenues turned into fast-flowing rivers.
Leite said on Wednesday the death toll stood at 31 people, and state emergency authorities said at least 1,600 people had been left homeless.
In Mucum, a city of regarding 50,000 inhabitants, rescuers found 15 dead in the same house. After the storm passed, residents discovered a path of destruction along the river, with most buildings washed away to ground level.
The images showed a sheep hanging from a power line, indicating how high the water had risen.
“The water came very fast, it was rising 2 meters per hour,” said one of the residents of Mucum, Marcos Antonio Gomes, who was standing on a pile of rubble. “We have nothing left. We don’t even have clothes.”
In a sign that people might be stranded for some time, the Mucum City Council advised residents to find supplies to cover their needs for the next 72 hours.
Gomes, a 55-year-old businessman, said it was the fourth time in 15 years that his home had been damaged by flooding. He indicated that this was one of the worst, and that he anticipates more flooding in the future.
“There is no way we can live here. This will happen once more. We have to get out of here,” she expressed.
Many of the victims were electrocuted or trapped in vehicles, the G1 news site reported. A woman died when she was swept away during a rescue attempt.
Search and rescue teams have focused on the Taquari valley, some 150 kilometers northwest of the state capital Porto Alegre, where most of the casualties and damage were reported.
However, on Wednesday morning efforts were expanded to the west and helicopters were sent to the Rio Pardo valley.
More torrential rains are expected in the south-central region of the state, although it is possible that they did not affect the most affected areas. Authorities maintained three flood alerts on the Jacui, Cai and Taquari rivers on Wednesday.
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