Brazilian Civil Defense updates situation in affected areas | News

Since the early hours of this Monday, part of Rio Grande do Sul has been facing adverse events such as storms, strong winds, hail and disturbances associated with the large volume of rain, according to information from the Civil Defense and local media.

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The State Civil Defense has issued hydrological and meteorological risk alerts to municipalities and the population and has acted to mitigate the effects of the rains in several cities.

According to the State Situation Room, so far the cities with the highest volume of rain accumulated in 72 hours are Passo Fundo, Água Santa, Ijuí, Entre-Ijuís and Vacaria. In addition, flooding was recorded in the municipalities of Santo Expedito do Sul, Lajeado do Bugre, Nova Bassano, São Jorge, Bento Gonçalves, Caxias do Sul and Ibiraiaras and several other points.

The regions that require the most attention at this time due to flood risk are the Caí and Taquari valleys. Other points are still being monitored and can be followed on the Situation Room page.

The number of displaced people reached 278, but at the beginning of the night it had already decreased to 215. The displaced come from five cities, the most affected is Nova Bassano with 90, according to the Civil Defense.

So far four deaths have been reported. A man was killed in Mato Castelhano while trying to cross the Piraçuce River, in Passo Fundo. Another suffered an electric shock, in the Cruzeiro neighborhood. In Ibiraiaras, a couple died after their car was swept away by a current while crossing a bridge in the municipality.

The deputy head of Civil Protection and Defense, Colonel Marcus Vinicius Gonçalves Oliveira, explained “The deaths we had were not directly due to the rain, but to a lack of attention. The actions of the municipalities are important, since their contingency plans must be updated and informed to the population.”

According to Oliveira, the culture of prevention has been constantly promoted by the actions of the Civil Defense. He also recalled the importance of being registered to receive text messages from the agency with alerts. According to Civil Defense data, only 7% of the state's population is registered in the notification system.

Alerts continue to be published periodically on the Civil Defense website and on its social networks. There are also a number of recommended security measures on the site.

The Autonomous Department of Highways declared that ten sections of seven highways in the state are blocked in some way.