Southern Brazil is still reeling from massive flooding as it faces risk from new storms

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil — Authorities in southern Brazil rushed on Wednesday to rescue survivors of a massive flood that has killed at least 100 people, but some residents refused to leave their belongings behind while others returned to their evacuated homes despite the risk of new storms.

Heavy rains and flooding in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul since last week have also left 128 people missing, authorities said. More than 230,000 people have been displaced and much of the region has been isolated by flooding.

Thunderstorms are expected in the state Wednesday night, with hail and wind gusts of up to 60 kilometers per hour (37 mph), according to the National Institute of Meteorology’s evening bulletin. And the institute predicts a cold front this weekend with additional rain, which will be particularly intense in the north and east of the state.

In the capital, Porto Alegre, about 300 people were taking refuge in the local club Gremio Náutico Uniao, based in the exclusive and unaffected neighborhood of Moinhos de Vento. Dozens of people lay on mattresses as volunteers brought boxes full of feijoada, a typical Brazilian bean and pork stew.

Heitor da Silva was among them, having heeded the authorities’ warnings. Still, he is anxious about his future.

“I only took my documents, three T-shirts, two pieces of underwear and my flip-flops. Everything else is over,” said da Silva, 68. “I already had very little, but that stayed there. When I return home, there will be nothing. And?”

Staff at the state civil defense agency told The Associated Press that they have been struggling to persuade residents of the city of Eldorado do Sul, one of the cities hardest hit by the floods, to leave their homes. It is located next to Porto Alegre, near the center of the state’s coast. At least four people refused to evacuate.

A military helicopter flyover over Eldorado do Sul showed hundreds of submerged houses, with only the roofs visible. Residents used small boards, surfboards and jet skis to get around. Mayor Ernani de Freitas told local journalists that the city “will be totally evacuated.”

“Recovery will take at least a year,” he said.

Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite, speaking at a press conference Tuesday night, called on residents to stay out of harm’s way as the predicted downpour could cause more severe flooding across the state.

“It’s not the time to go home,” he said.

The civil defense agency’s own urgent warning asking displaced residents not to return to flooded areas also highlighted the risk of disease transmission.

Army Gen. Marcelo Zucco, one of the coordinators of the rescue operations, told the AP that his team is working at full speed ahead of heavy rains that are forecast to hit the Porto Alegre area this weekend. Moderate rain fell in the city on Wednesday afternoon.

“We hope that the next rains will not be like what we saw, but there is no way to be sure that there will not be problems ahead,” Zucco said.

“At this moment we are focused on finishing the rescue operations and beginning logistical support to the population. “That means bringing water, medicine, food and transportation for the sick to a hospital,” the general added.

He also said some improvements in the day’s conditions helped his men finally access some areas by land.

Unusually heavy rains have also flooded parts of Uruguay, causing rivers to overflow in the east of the country and displacing nearly 1,000 people, authorities said, and rescuers reported they had evacuated 200 stranded people, with the help of the army. There were no immediate reports of casualties, but the rescue service said the flash floods damaged more than a dozen roads and left thousands of people without power.

Over the weekend, rains in the north of Rio Grande do Sul could cause a new flood of the rivers that are already causing widespread flooding around the Patos lagoon, where the municipality of Porto Alegre is located, Estael Sias, meteorologist from a Rio Grande do Sul center. forecasting service, told The Associated Press.

“We will remain at this alert level at least until the end of the month,” he said.

The meteorologist herself has been forced to leave her home. When major floods devastated entire cities in the northern part of the state last week, Sias knew that the water would flow into the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre and that she would have to find a safe place. Last Friday she, her husband, three children and two dogs left everything behind. Less than 24 hours later, water began to fill her neighborhood in Canoas, now one of the most affected cities in the state.

“My house flooded,” Sias recalled, his voice breaking. “And it was very difficult to leave my house, to have my family leave.” She said she could protect her immediate family, but not others who insisted on staying. “It has been very distressing and it still is when I return home.”

A report from the National Confederation of Municipalities estimates the damage at 4.6 billion reais (930 million dollars) in almost 80% of the municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul.

Governor Leite has said the enormous impact will require something like the Marshall Plan for Europe’s recovery after World War II. The state has already asked the federal government to suspend debt payments and create a fund for the southern region.

On Tuesday, Congress approved a decree declaring a state of calamity in Rio Grande do Sul until the end of the year, allowing the federal government to quickly allocate money to mitigate the catastrophe and rebuild flood-affected regions, avoiding a limit of spent. The vote united supporters and opponents of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government.

“There is no limit to the public spending necessary to solve the problem of the calamity that today ravages the state of Rio Grande do Sul,” the Minister of Planning and Budget, Simone Tebet, said in an interview with Radio Gaucha.

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Sá Pessoa reported from Sao Paulo. AP video journalist Lucas Dumphreys contributed from Porto Alegre and writer Isabel DeBre from Buenos Aires.