05/06/2024 – 7:01
The flood of the Guaíba River that floods Porto Alegre is still expected to take days to return to safe levels. Although it avoided a major disaster, the anti-flood system in the capital of Rio Grande do Sul is at its limit and, in some points, no longer contains the river’s waters.
In the city, 70% are without water supply due to the shutdown of four of its six treatment plants and there are several power outages. Salgado Filho Airport is closed, and many land accesses are blocked. Several neighborhoods were evacuated, as well as the Mãe de Deus Hospital, in the south zone. Teams from public authorities and volunteers organize themselves on boats and even jet skis to rescue stranded people, many on rooftops. “Boats are missing, vests are missing,” said Mayor Sebastião Melo (MDB).
The Hydraulic Research Institute (IPH) of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) said that there is a forecast of “long-lasting floods, with the stabilization of high water levels in Guaíba at around 5 m to 5.5 m for more of four days”, even if the storms do not persist. The flood level for the river is 3 m. Until this month, the highest mark was 4.76 m, in the historic flood of 1941.
The mayor of Porto Alegre suggested this Sunday, the 5th, that residents who have homes on the coast leave the capital towards the beaches, which were not as affected by the rains as the central region of the state. “We need to empty as much as possible, reduce circulation in Porto Alegre,” he said, highlighting that this is not about evacuating the city. Porto Alegre has 58 reception spaces. There are 6 thousand sheltered. Salgado Filho airport is scheduled to reopen between May 9 and 10, says the mayor.
On Sunday morning, the Grêmio Arena, which is flooded, was the target of looting. Videos on social media show the Grêmio Mania store, on the stadium’s Esplanade, when a group of people invaded. According to the club, “there is still no way to measure the loss”.
The information is from the newspaper The State of S. Paulo.
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