Capela de Santana: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Thursday visited the south of the country, where floods and landslides caused by heavy rains have killed 29 people.
Authorities in Rio Grande do Sul declared a state of emergency as rescuers continued to search for dozens of missing people amid the rubble of collapsed buildings, bridges and roads.
The storm affected nearly 150 municipalities in the country, killing at least a dozen people and displacing nearly 10,000 people.
He updated the death toll from 13 to 29 on Thursday and the number of missing from 21 to 60.
“With the greatest pain in my heart, I knew it was only going to get worse,” the judge said.
Lula, who blames spring for climate change, arrived in Santa Maria with a delegation of ministers this morning and held a business meeting with Leite and other officials to coordinate rescue efforts.
The President promised that “there will be no human or material resources” to reduce the suffering of this extreme event … in the country.
He also stated that the federal government would “100% own the power” of civil servants.
The central authority provided 12 aircraft, 45 vehicles and 12 ships, as well as 626 troops, to clear roads, distribute food, water and bedding, and set up shelters.
As the rain continued, forecasters warned that the country’s main Guaiba River had breached its banks in some areas, reaching three meters (9.8 feet) on Thursday and four meters the following day.
Entire communities in Rio Grande do Sul have been destroyed by incessant rain and roads are blocked, leaving the city without even telephone or internet service.
Rescuers and soldiers scrambled to free families trapped in their homes, many clinging to roofs as the water rose.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before … everything is under water,” said Raul Metzel, 52, a machine operator in the municipality of Capela de Santana.
Authorities urged people to evacuate areas along state highways and those living near rivers or on hills because of the risk of landslides.
Hundreds of thousands of people were left without electricity and running water, and classes were suspended across the country.
On Wednesday, Deputy Governor Gabriel Souza said the damage was about $20 million.
Sinimbu Mayor Sandra Backes said the situation in her town was “unprecedented”.
“Sinimbu is like a war zone, it was completely destroyed… Shops, businesses, supermarkets were all destroyed,” he said.
Elsewhere, in Santa Cruz do Sul, rescuers used boats to ferry residents, many of them children, to safety.
Rivers in the area were already swollen from previous storms.
At least 31 people were killed in a cyclone in the country last September.
According to experts, the largest country in South America has been hit by extreme weather events in recent times.
The flood came on a cold front in the south and southeast after an extreme heat wave.
