PORTO ALEGRE/CANOAS/SAO PAULO—According to local officials on Sunday, the number of fatalities from the flooding caused by torrential rains in Rio Grande do Sul, the southern state of Brazil, has increased to at least 78. The flooding has also resulted in the displacement of over 115,000 people.
Along with the majority of his cabinet, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva landed in Rio Grande do Sul on Sunday morning to negotiate rescue and reconstruction efforts with local authorities.
“Bureaucracy will not stand in our way, stopping us from recovering the state’s greatness,” Mr. Lula said at a press conference.
“It is a war scenario, and will need post-war measures,” state governor Eduardo Leite added.
According to the state civil defense organization, 105 persons were reported missing on Sunday, up from around 70 the day before, meaning that the death toll might possibly rise significantly. It added that it was looking into the possibility that the storms had something to do with four more deaths.
The state, which borders Uruguay and Argentina, has seen flooding from storms in the last few days in over two thirds of its approximately 500 towns, uprooting over 115,000 people, according to officials.
Numerous cities have seen their highways and bridges devastated by floods. Additionally, landslides and a partial dam collapse at a minor hydroelectric power station were caused by the storms.
Nearly a third of the state's population did not have access to water on Sunday night, while over 400,000 people were without electricity, according to officials.
The national geological agency reports that the Guaiba lake in Porto Alegre, the state capital, overflowed its borders and reached its greatest water level ever recorded. All planes have been halted at Porto Alegre's international airport since Friday.
Julio Manichesque, 76, was saved by volunteers in the city of Canoas, close to Porto Alegre, after spending the whole Friday on the roof of the home he had shared for 52 years.
“I have never seen that much water,” Mr. Manichesque said.
Several volunteers have also put their personal safety in danger by participating in the rescue operations with kayaks, jet skis, and small boats.
Fabiano Saldanha, 30, claimed that since Friday, he and three buddies had rescued over fifty people from islands that are a part of Porto Alegre using jet skis.
“The only thing we hear when we enter a street is ‘help,’ ‘help,'” Mr. Saldanha said.
