In an interview with CNN , this Thursday morning (2), the mayor of Porto Alegre, Sebastião Melo (MDB), said that he intends to use “all possible instruments” to evacuate five islands where around 8 thousand people live in the capital of Rio Grande do Sul. These areas are at greater risk of flooding.
The city hall made sound cars available to issue alerts to residents in the region. Buses, vans and coaches were made available to transport citizens, who could be taken to city shelters or to the homes of relatives and friends. “Accept the invitation”, the mayor appealed to the residents of the islands, so that they would be willing to leave their homes.
“We will exhaust all means of persuasion. I'll be moving to the islands in a bit. I will use my power of persuasion to convince people”, she added.
“People are afraid of leaving home and losing what little they have”, pondered Sebastião Melo, who committed to helping replace material goods in the future. “The priority is to save lives,” he said.
Guaíba River
Porto Alegre city hall decided to close the Cais Mauá floodgates. The closing process began at 8am today. In a recent measurement, the river level reached 2.01 meters at the height of the capital's Historic Center. There, the alert level is 2.5 meters and at 3 meters flooding occurs.
In the island region, flooding is already predicted at 2.2 meters.
“Our worst problem is that the Guaíba River, which is 72 kilometers long, is an outlet for four main rivers in Rio Grande do Sul, the main one being the Jacuí”, commented the mayor.
“Both at the headwaters of these rivers and in the courses of these rivers, there are places where it rained more than 500 millimeters in the last two days, that is, an enormous intensity”. According to Sebastião Melo, the water from these rains is reaching Porto Alegre. “We are going to start having problems from noon onwards,” he warned.
The mayor also said that it is expected that it will stop raining on Saturday, but the city is expected to continue suffering from flooding, as the water accumulated in the rivers will continue to reach the capital.
Source: CNN Brasil
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