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Floods that have killed at least 85 people in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul have completely halted operations in three ports as well as put a stop to nearly all logistical operations in the state.
According to the Civil Defense of Rio Grande do Sul, over 130 others are still missing, over 19,000 people have been made homeless, with around 150,000 displaced in nearly 350 municipalities.
Inchcape Shipping Services claimed that the ports of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande, and Tramandai were completely shut down and that the heavy rains flooded the state capital of Porto Alegre with the river level five meters above the usual level.
The Porto Alegre’s Salgado Filho International Airport is also flooded. All discharge and loading operations in the port are stopped with no forecast for return while all flights are cancelled. The airport is also used for crew changes in the ports. With the floods closing both the airport and the ports, crew changes are on hold until further notice. Transport links and energy supplies have been cut as well.
The immense rain also caused the dam of the 100MW 14 de Julho hydroelectric plant on the Antas River to rupture last week. Power generation company Companhia Energetica Rio das Antas, which runs the plant, implemented an emergency evacuation plan on May 1.
Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau suspended its operations in two mills until it can ensure people’s protection and safety, and logistics company Rumo partially interrupted operations and said that damages to assets are still being properly measured.
Petrochemical giant Braskem shut down its facilities at the Triunfo petrochemical complex as a preventive measure because of extreme weather events on May 3, and it currently has no estimate for the resumption of activities there. Braskem operates eight industrial units in Rio Grande do Sul that make 5m tonnes per year of basic petrochemicals, polyethylene, and polypropylene.
Much of Rio Grande do Sul has been hit by persistent, heavy rainfall since April 27. In some regions, rainfall volumes have exceeded 300 mm in less than a week. In the municipality of Bento Gonçalves, for example, the volume reached 543.4 mm. Porto Alegre received 258.6 mm of rainfall in just three days. This figure corresponds to more than two months of rain compared to the normal for April and May.
Due to the massive damages from the natural disaster, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva asked Congress on Monday to recognise a state of public calamity for the heavy rains which would allow extra government spending with no need to comply with a spending cap stipulated by fiscal rules approved last year.
The floods have rekindled memories of the huge rains that collapsed a dam in Brazil in 2015 which resulted in the deaths of 19 people and floods in dozens of towns. The dam was at an iron ore mine owned by Samarco, a joint venture between Brazil’s Vale and the Anglo-Australian miner BHP.
A few days after these recent rains started, Vale and BHP proposed paying a nearly $25bn settlement to repair the damages caused by the collapse.
Major flood at Salgado Filho Airport due to extreme rainfall in Porto Alegre of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil 🇧🇷 (06.05.2024)
TELEGRAM JOIN 👉 /PXL5IoC0fS
— Disaster News (@Top_Disaster) May 6, 2024
⚠️ BRAZIL NEEDS HELP ⚠️
RIO GRANDE DO SUL IS UNDERWATER! 🚨
Currently, the South region of Brazil is facing a huge environmental tragedy.
Many people have lost their homes and hundreds died in the floods. A lot of people are missing. A lot of people have been waiting for… /0oyCg7NhYt
— Paramore Brasil (@paramorebrasil) May 7, 2024
