KANOAS: Rivers in southern Brazil rose again on Monday, as flood relief efforts stepped up and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva admitted that authorities were “unprepared” for this massive disaster.
More than 600,000 people have been left homeless by torrential rains, floods and landslides that have ravaged the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul for two weeks.
At least 147 people have died and more than 800 have been injured in the flood, with rescuers reporting 127 missing in boats and airlifts on Monday.
Hundreds of towns and cities and the regional capital of Porto Alegre – a bustling city of 1.4 million people – have been under water for days, streets turned into canals.
“This is a tragedy because we are not ready,” Lula said in a conference call with Finance Minister Fernando Haddad and Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite.
The country remained closed on Monday, with about 360,000 students out of school, the international airport closed and many roads and bridges impassable.
Many farms in the region, which provide two-thirds of the rice consumed in Brazil, are under water. The federal government said it would import 200,000 tonnes of rice to ensure supply and prevent price speculation.
About 80,000 people took shelter in schools, sports clubs and other buildings.
The recent floods hit Brazil after wildfires, unprecedented heat waves and drought.
Governments and experts blame the severe El Nino weather phenomenon on climate change.
The rain eased on Monday, but fresh rain over the weekend caused the river to swell again.
“It is not time to return home to the danger zone,” Leite told residents of the affected areas on Monday.
Lula abandoned a state visit to Chile to focus on the disaster and said he would visit the region for a third time on Wednesday.
The president also announced that Rio Grande do Sul will offer a three-year moratorium on debt payments to the state. The plan needs congressional approval.
Guaiba, which borders Porto Alegre, reached a historic height of 5.3 meters last week when it reached three meters (about 9.8 feet) and is expected to rise again soon.
City officials have erected a sandbag barrier in the center of the city to divert floodwater from water pumping stations that serve several districts in the capital.
In Canoas, on the outskirts of Porto Alegre, residents salvaged what they could from their homes.
“It was flooded in October and now again.
Leite said the most affected families will receive about $400 to “rebuild their lives.”
Brazil’s federal government last week pledged nearly $10 billion for reconstruction.
“We are experiencing the results of an endless drama in Rio Grande do Sul,” Vice Governor Jibril Souza told Globo TV on Monday.
In Porto Alegre, aid workers continue to deliver food, drinking water, medicine and clothing, mostly donated, to residents.
“This is the largest logistics operation in the country’s history,” Leite said.
According to the Brazilian Indigenous Missionary Council, around 80 indigenous communities are among the worst affected.
The government said it has sent food packages and drinking water to 240 local families in the Taquari Valley.
Heavy rain also caused flooding in the Uruguay River, which flows between Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.
