“Guaíba level in Porto Alegre reaches highest level since 1941 after storms in Rio Grande do Sul”
IN THE WORLD | BRAZIL
"On
the afternoon of this Friday (3), the level of Guaíba, in Porto Alegre,
exceeded 4.6 meters and continues to rise due to the storms that hit Rio Grande
do Sul last week. This mark is the highest recorded since the historic flood of
1941, when the level reached 4.76 meters. The flood level in the Cais Mauá
region is 3 meters. Civil Defense issued an extreme flood warning, recommending
that the population avoid areas close to Guaíba. and risk locations." 1
Furthermore, it is
worth mentioning that Lake Guaíba reached 4.88 meters this morning, surpassing
the previous record from 1941. The expectation is that the level will continue to rise and
could exceed five meters today 2 . The situation is critical, with 37 dead , 74 missing and 74 injured . Around
31,500 people are
away from home, including 7,949
in shelters and 23,598
homeless (staying at the home of family or friends). Floods affected 235
of the state's 496 municipalities , impacting 351,639
thousand people 1 .
The waters of
Guaíba also invaded some roads, such as stretches of the waterfront in the
South Zone, in addition to Mauá and Conceição avenues. The hydrometeorological
station at Cais Mauá had reading problems, but technicians are working to
restore the data. The
federal government has closed traffic on the two bridges over the Guaíba River
for safety reasons, and the Porto Alegre bus station is flooded, with 95% of
trips suspended 1 . It is a worrying situation for the region.
BY
| ROBERT MACMILLAN
