Dear Friends and Partners,
I am coming to you with a heavy heart. Since April 27, 2024, heavy rains began in the central region of my home state, Rio Grande do Sul. On April 29, the first weather alert went out as the storms intensified from an El Niño effect. On April 30, the first five deaths were recorded and 77 municipalities were experiencing flooding. The very next day, the situation worsened; 114 municipalities and 19,000 people were impacted, and a total of 10 deaths were recorded. A state of emergency was issued. On May 2, 19 deaths were recorded and a hydroelectric power dam started to collapse. By the next day, over half of the state was flooded and the Guaíba Lake, in the capital city of Porto Alegre, reached a historic high since 1941 of 15.5 feet, flooding most of the city, including the historic downtown.
The cities in the Taquari Valley (100 miles from Porto Alegre), which had flooded one year ago, were again under water. 39 were dead and 68 missing. On May 4th, 400,000 were without power, over 186 municipalities were without phone or internet, and one million homes were without water. May 6 saw the Guaíba Lake rise to 17.5 feet, Porto Alegre’s international airport was shut down, and approximately 160 thousand were displaced. The rains stopped, but the rivers continued to rise. By May 11, the numbers rose to 2 million people and 452 (out of 497) municipalities impacted, 136 dead, 125 missing, and 806 injured. May 16 and 17 will bring more rain and temperatures will fall below 32F in higher elevations.
As you can imagine, resources in the state are very few. Food, water, and cleaning supplies have to be brought in from out of the state. Our pastors in southern Brazil have been volunteering tirelessly in shelters, distributing water, food, and clothing. The current situation is dire, but the worst is yet to come. Eighty percent of the capital city has been impacted by the flood. When the waters recede, the clean-up and rebuilding will be monumental, especially in the impoverished communities our churches serve. This is a tremendous opportunity to show the love of Christ to the people of Rio Grande do Sul, we want to equip our churches to be the hands and feet of Jesus as they serve and minister throughout these affected communities. Help us bring immediate aid and help to rebuild to Porto Alegre and the surrounding cities. Please consider a special gift for disaster relief. You can give online at livingbread.org/give. Choose the General Giving option and add “Flood Relief” to the note. 100% of funds raised will be sent to Brasil to help recover from this terrible disaster.
Thank you for your support,
Bárbara
I am including a few links of videos and photos of the flooding. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/03/weather/brazil-rain-floods-intl/index.html
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/152795/floods-engulf-porto-alegre
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2024/05/photos-deadly-flooding-southern-brazil/678326
Videos:
https://apnews.com/video/floods-porto-alegre-brazil-203dde3995aa49b3bc9ced3e580c0b7a
https://apnews.com/video/floods-porto-alegre-natural-disasters-4c4605763a954d33b1d512153216c94e