After a day of stability, the number of fatal victims due to floods in Brazil’s southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul, rose to 161. The Civil Defense report released on Tuesday morning (21) also lists 85 people missing. In addition, the state government confirmed the first death from leptospirosis since the heavy rains began to hit the state on April 28.
In the last 24 hours, 3,627 people have left shelters. Another 72,561, however, remain. Another 581,633 people are homeless, although not in shelters. In total, Rio Grande do Sul has 654,194 people out of their homes.
A 67-year-old man named Eldo Gross was the first fatal victim of leptospirosis, according to the Rio Grande do Sul’s Health Department on Monday evening (19). He lived in the town of Travesseiro, in the Taquari Valley, a region already affected by intense flooding in September and November last year.
With Gross's death, the state government stressed that the risks of infection increase with floods but that the disease is already endemic in the state, i.e. with a significant incidence in the region.
This year, before the rains began, 129 cases and six deaths from leptospirosis were recorded in Rio Grande do Sul. In recent weeks, the State Health Surveillance Center has identified 304 suspected cases and 19 confirmed cases, three of them also in the town of Travesseiro: a father and his two daughters are in stable condition.
Leptospirosis is transmitted through contact with the urine of infected animals, especially rats, found in water, mud or sewage. Rodents and cockroaches are common in flood-torn areas, amidst garbage and receding waters.
With the low level of the Guaíba River, which on Monday was 4.25 meters (1.25 meters above the overflow level), around a thousand tons of garbage were removed from the streets of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande d Sul’s capital city. Part of the municipal school system resumed classes, an initiative that divided opinions among school principals.
This Tuesday (21), according to Climatempo, accumulations of up to 90 millimeters of rain are expected to hit the south of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. On Thursday and Friday (22 and 23, respectively), the forecast is for the water to reach the center and north of the state, including the capital city, the valley region and the mountains.
“Our mistakes weren’t committed by omission,” says Leite
“Our mistakes weren’t committed by negligence, omission or denialism,” said Rio Grande do Sul governor Eduardo Leite (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) after it came to light that his government had sanctioned the loosening of 480 environmental regulations.
The interview was broadcast on TV Cultura's “Roda Viva” show on Monday night (20). It happened the day after the governor admitted to the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo that he had been warned by studies about flooding risks. However, he said other agendas, such as fiscal balance, were more urgent.
Gaffes such as saying that donations can be bad for local businesses, for which he later apologized on social media, haven't stopped Eduardo Leite's popularity from rising online
Analyzed by Quaest, the Digital Popularity Index - calculated by processing 175 variables from platforms such as Instagram, Google, Facebook, TikTok and X - shows an increase in Leite's popularity. Among the country's governors, he is now tied with São Paulo's governor, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans Party). Both are in first place.
Edited by: Matheus Alves de Almeida
