By Taís Montani, Researcher at EmpoderaClima, and Carmen Roberta Taboada, Research Director at EmpoderaClima, both residents of Porto Alegre

At the moment, Rio Grande do Sul (RS), a state in the far south of Brazil with a territorial extension of almost 282,000 km² (larger than the area of the entire United Kingdom, for example), is experiencing the biggest climate disaster in its history - and one of the biggest in the country. The disaster is the result of extreme climate change and the omission of systemic public policies that consider the environment and climate adaptation. Adverse weather forecasts, combined with their intensification and frequency due to climate change, have led to the scenario in which we find ourselves as of the publication of this article on May 11th: 136 dead, 756 injured, 141 missing, around 71,000 people are in shelters and another 339,000 have had to leave their homes. According to Civil Defense, out of a population of just over 10 million people, 1.9 million were affected - for reference, the US city of San Diego, California, has around 1.3 million inhabitants.

It is also important to remember that in this context, the most vulnerable groups of the population are disproportionately affected. Throughout this text, we've put what's happening into context and how you can help the state of Rio Grande do Sul, which is facing an unprecedented calamity.

How did Rio Grande do Sul get underwater?

It all started with heavy rain in some regions of the state on April 27, intensifying on April 29. By May 2, the 258.6 millimeters of rain corresponded to more than two months of rain compared to the previous average. Like a chain effect, rainfall, strong winds, landslides and flooding in some regions spread, widening and advancing until it took over 85% of Rio Grande do Sul's territory - 444 out of 497 municipalities were affected.

The state had already been experiencing intense flooding over the last year, so precautionary warnings of cyclones and heavy rains have become routine for the population of Rio Grande do Sul. However, no one was prepared for a catastrophe of this magnitude.

Porto Alegre, the state capital where many EmpoderaClima volunteers are based, and its metropolitan region, is coasted by Lake Guaíba - the meeting point of several rivers and tributaries in the region. As a result, the rising water levels of the other rivers and lakes result in an alarming outflow into the Guaíba. With the heavy rain and flood warnings, part of the city was already set to be evacuated and prepared to face major challenges in the following days. For reference purposes, the Civil Defense has an alert for a water level of 2.5 meters and a flood level of 3 meters - and the reality faced in Porto Alegre reached 5.35 meters - an all-time record. In addition to reaching more distant neighborhoods than expected, the catastrophe was aggravated by consecutive forecasts of rain that kept the water level high.

Another alarming factor for Porto Alegre is the large archipelago of 16 islands that make up the territory - these are affected more quickly since the rise in water levels invades a large part of their extent. In addition, the islands have lost land contact with the city, and have to be evacuated more predictably, limiting rescues in floods by sea or air.

Combining the factors, the intensity of the natural phenomena, and the number of victims affected, a state of public calamity was established by the Porto Alegre City Council and the metropolitan region. The climate disaster was classified as level III - high intensity.

The victims' testimonies are unfortunately similar throughout Rio Grande do Sul: people, families, and communities lost everything they had, their houses, their furniture, their homes. They left their homes with only the clothes on their backs. Many had to climb onto their roofs to await rescue because of the high water levels. Towns disappeared under the floodwaters. Many lost their loved ones and even their lives. In the midst of this scenario, police sirens, ambulances, and helicopters became the ambient sounds of the cities of Rio Grande do Sul.

In addition to personal losses, material damage also includes the following points:

• Several highways and roads are totally or partially blocked. The state capital, Porto Alegre, has been cut off, with only one land access route for bringing in supplies and humanitarian aid and an exit route for evacuating its residents;

• Salgado Filho International Airport, the state's main airport, has been flooded and has no expectations to resume operations;

• 952 schools were affected in RS, affecting 331,000 students;

• Shortages in the markets, with an abundant and immediate need for drinking water, hygiene items, basic food baskets, among others;

• With half of the water treatment plants in Porto Alegre affected, around 80% of the population suffered from water shortages; and

• Many municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul are totally or partially without electricity.

It is not yet possible to accurately measure the damage inherited from the disaster in our state, nor the budget for rebuilding the cities. The negative effects cut across all layers - social, economic, urban, and commercial. It is necessary to point out that the economy of Rio Grande do Sul is suffering many losses - from agricultural production to the closure of businesses in the affected cities, which at the moment points to an economic recession.

It's important to remember that Rio Grande do Sul has two biomes: the Atlantic Forest, which covers the northern half of the state, and the Pampa, which occupies the southern half. Unlike the Amazon, the two don't receive as much international attention - especially the Pampa, which is shared with neighboring Uruguay and Argentina and doesn't appear in any other Brazilian state. However, considering the interconnectedness of nature, without the two biomes that occupy Rio Grande do Sul territory, the Amazon rainforest wouldn't survive either. In a constant feedback loop and understanding the Earth as a living organism, mitigating the climate disaster in the south and thinking about climate adaptation and mitigation measures for Rio Grande do Sul is essential for Brazil's environmental protection as a whole.

Civil society's role in damage containment and shelter

Civil society is being essential to the resilience of the affected cities in Rio Grande do Sul. Volunteers are coming together to sort donations, provide security, logistics and prepare shelters, participate in rescues of victims (which have been carried out using boats, canoes and jet skis), search for drinking water, prepare food, provide medical and psychological care, among many other activities that have been part of the daily lives of the people of Rio Grande do Sul in recent days. While the Metropolitan region is currently with the people who have been evacuated from their homes in shelters, other volunteers in the rest of the state are mobilizing to help clean up the houses. The population's awareness and proactivity have saved thousands of victims, putting disbelief in climate change to the test and demonstrating the strength of popular participation when no one, not even the government, is capable of dealing with such a disaster alone.

However, despite the great effort and mobilization of civilian volunteers and the constant work of the public sector to contain the disaster and help the victims, the torment we are going through is far from being over. This is because the weather forecast for the next few days is challenging. In addition to the fact that there are five dams at risk of collapse in the state, more rain is forecast and a cold front will lower temperatures in the region, making further rescues more difficult and worsening the situation of those already rescued.

How does gender equality come into the agenda?

To complete the picture, there is still concern and attention to the safety of the most vulnerable people on the streets and in temporary shelters in cities, especially children and women - remembering that climate disasters generate different effects according to the vulnerabilities of the victims involved. As a measure to combat the reported cases of sexual violence in shelters, heavily guarded temporary housing is being set up exclusively for women and children displaced by the climate disaster. These sad cases highlight the disproportionate impacts that girls and women face due to the context of climate change, in which previously critical situations are aggravated by different issues, such as social cut-offs and different types of violence.

How can you help Rio Grande do Sul?

Having described the scenario that Rio Grande do Sul is going through and given the pessimistic weather forecasts for the next few days, there is still a lot we can do to help. Locally, we ask anyone who can to volunteer at distribution centers and shelters. In Rio Grande do Sul and other parts of Brazil, we ask that, as far as possible, everyone contributes with individual or collective donations, mobilizing their communities to send personal hygiene items, non-perishable food, clothing, cleaning products, and, above all, drinking and mineral water. 

Monetary donations to trustworthy initiatives are also encouraged because, in addition to the need to buy donations at this time, there will still be the effort to clean up and rebuild the cities. For Brazilians, click here to access a platform that brings together initiatives to help flood victims across the country. We also suggest the following initiatives that have been working hard to rescue, donate, and provide shelter for the victims of the disaster:

• Espaço Marlon e Marcelinho (Marlon and Marcelinho’s Space): makes donations to vulnerable communities in the northern part of Porto Alegre, in the Rubem Berta neighborhood. Initiative led by black women.

• Frente Quilombola (Quilombola Front): has been collecting donations for quilombola communities in Porto Alegre.

• Articulação dos Povos Indígenas (Indigenous Communities Articulation): has launched a campaign to help affected communities across all the state.

• Cozinha Solidária do MTST (MTST’s Solidarity Kitchen): an emergency campaign was set up to help residents affected by the floods.

• Correios: is sending donations free of charge from other states.

1. Instituto Curicaca (Curicaca Institute): The Rio Grande do Sul Climate Emergency Group was created, which has been working on several fronts (sorting donations, preparing and transporting food, logistics and contacting different institutions).

For people abroad who would like to help, we suggest international transfers directly to the RS state government (remembering that, due to the exchange rate of the Brazilian currency, donations in euros or dollars are worth a lot). For more information on how to do this, click here.

Contribute in any way you can, your little bit could be a lot to someone else. Help Brazil. Help Rio Grande do Sul!

For more information on the situation, click here. To see before and after images of the disaster in Porto Alegre, click here. To see satellite images of the region, click here.

If you know of any other institutions working on the front line in Rio Grande do Sul, please let us know so we can share.