Brazil to Build 4 Tent Cities to Accommodate Flood Victims

Three weeks after one of Brazil's worst floods ever hit the southernmost part of the country, resulting in 155 deaths and displacing 540,000 people from their homes, experts warn that water levels will take at least another two weeks to recede.

According to The Guardian, the death toll in Rio Grande do Sul continues to rise daily, with over 77,000 displaced persons still in public shelters, prompting the state government to announce plans to build four temporary "tent cities" to accommodate them.

State Governor Eduardo Leite stated that the costs of rebuilding would be "much higher" than the initially estimated 19 billion reais ($2.9 billion).

Several cities remain underwater, including the state capital, Porto Alegre, where 46 out of 96 neighborhoods are submerged. Even residents of areas unaffected by the floods have endured days without electricity and drinkable water.

Of the state's seven main rivers, five are still above their maximum water levels, with experts seeing little hope for water levels to decrease anytime soon, as reported by The Guardian.

Anderson Rohoff, a professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul's Hydraulic Research Institute (IPH), described the rainfall as typical of a climate crisis: "It was extremely heavy, with a large amount of water concentrated in a short period."

In just three days, the state received as much rainfall as it typically does over four months. 

The storm caused flooding in the Tacuari, Cai, Pardo, Jacui, Sinos, and Gravatai rivers, all of which flow into the Jacuí River, a massive water body that passes through Porto Alegre.

Within 48 hours, the water level in the Jacuí River rose to over 5 meters, submerging sewage dams and flooding the city, overwhelming dam containment systems.

The stadiums of the region's two largest football clubs, Grêmio and Internacional, found themselves underwater, leading to game postponements.

Since then, rainfall intensity has diminished, but flooding persists, with water levels likely to remain high for several days, according to experts.