Sao Paulo: The death toll from severe flooding in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul has risen to 107,and nearly 100,000 homes have been destroyed, civil defense said.
The overflowing rivers and floods in the state have affected nearly 1.45 million people and forced some 200,000 residents to flee their homes, Xinhua news agency reported.
At least 136 people are still missing and more than 165,000 have been displaced from flooded homes and rescued by boats and helicopters.
More than 85 per cent of the city’s population has lost access to potable water, leading authorities to ration the supply.
A Brazilian horse nicknamed Caramelo by social media users garnered attention after a television news helicopter filmed him stranded on a rooftop in southern Brazil.
The brown horse was seen balancing on two narrow strips of slippery asbestos for days in Canoas, a city in the Porto Alegre metropolitan area that is one of the hardest-hit areas in the state.
The entire rescue operation of the horse Caramelo’s was broadcasted live on television.
Firefighters and veterinarians climbed onto the mostly submerged roof, sedated and immobilized the horse and then laid him on an inflatable raft. The operation involved four inflatable boats and four support vessels, with firefighters, soldiers and other volunteers.
“We found the animal in a debilitated state,” Capt Tiago Franco, a firefighter from Sao Paulo deployed to lead the rescue, was quoted as saying in a statement from that state’s security secretariat. “We tried to approach in a calm way,” as reported by Guardian.
Here is the Video:
* UPDATE CARAMELO *
Resgate acontecendo neste momento.
Torçam. pic.twitter.com/SbYO1s7om0
— Felipe Neto 🦉 (@felipeneto) May 9, 2024
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has promised that there would be no lack of resources to meet the needs of residents.
“We understand the difficult financial situation faced by Rio Grande do Sul,” he said at an event in Brasilia, adding he wanted to make sure the state would get “everything it is entitled to”, as reported by Aljazeera.