Brazil: Churches help during floods

By Sr. Francine-Marie Cooper, ISSM

Several days of heavy rains have caused floods in more than 400 cities and forced over 408,100 people to leave their homes in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul.

The flooding is considered the worst climatic crisis in the state’s history, and has killed at least 116 people since it began two weeks ago, with another 140 people missing.

Much of the state capital, Porto Alegre, has been plunged into darkness by the flood, which has damaged power and water treatment plants, also leaving most residents without drinking water.

In an interview with the news website Crux, the Bishop of Bagé, Cleonir Paulo Dalbosco OFM, said that churches had been collecting food and hygiene kits for the most affected communities. “There’s an overspread feeling of solidarity, and volunteers are helping in every form the people in need,” he said.

Churches operating as distribution centers

Now, churches all over the state are operating as centers of distribution of donations and as shelters for displaced people, Dalbosco said.

“Parishes and dioceses from other parts of Brazil have been promoting campaigns and sending funds to our state as well,” he added.

Bento Gonçalves was one of the cities heavily affected by the floods. After a dam broke due to the high volume of water, an entire district was inundated, causing deaths and devastating farms.

Shelter for elderly

In several parts of Rio Grande do Sul, grocery stores have been announcing they are lacking basic food items, especially fresh vegetables, due to the devastation of farms and roads. That’s the case in Caxias do Sul, the second largest city in the state, with more than 460,000 people.

Father Leonardo Inácio Pereira, from the Parish of São Pelegrino in Caxias do Sul told Crux: “We’re giving shelter to a group of 25 senior citizens who lived at a nursing home.”

Parishioners have been helping to rescue people from inundated areas with quadricycles and boats. Volunteers take food to people whose houses are surrounded by water.

“Our diocesan seminary became a center of distribution of donations. Yesterday, at least 500 people went there to help organize the kits,” Pereira said.

Now, 85 percent of the residents in Porto Alegre – which has a population of 1.5 million people – are lacking water. It may take several days for the normalization of the situation in the city, according to the authorities.

(Source: Crux, BBC)