Nine people who were hospitalized in serious condition at the Canoas emergency hospital in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul died after floods that hit the city invaded a medical facility and caused a power outage. With these nine deaths, the number of deaths caused by the severe floods that have devastated Rio Grande do Sul since last Monday has risen to 66, local civil protection confirmed.
“The water started flowing, the intensive care unit collapsed due to lack of electricity. We tried to support the patients, but we couldn’t, and as a result, nine people died,” the mayor confirmed. Canoas, the third largest city in the state, by Jairo Jorge.
The mayor of Canoas, a city of 357,000 people and a tourist destination, said floodwaters that washed over the city entered a hospital and caused a short circuit, cutting off electricity. Those in charge of the city’s largest medical facility tried to activate emergency generators to keep the devices online to guarantee the lives of critical patients admitted to the intensive care unit, but the amount of water from the flood was so great that it flooded the generator area. . and they didn’t work either.
Hospitals across Rio Grande do Sul state are facing serious challenges trying to continue operating amid the untold chaos caused by widespread flooding and increased demand, although no loss of life like those in Canoas has so far been reported.
In Porto Alegre, the capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the waters of the usually calm Guaiba River, which was already almost three meters above normal levels and flooded entire neighborhoods, several large hospitals had to quickly transfer hundreds of people as quickly as possible. hospitalized after first aid stations were flooded, and in cases where such transfer to other buildings was not possible, people hospitalized on several floors were concentrated on the highest floors.
Rains that have rained continuously in Rio Grande do Sul state since last Monday have reached 261 of the state’s 496 municipalities, causing unprecedented levels of destruction and leaving at least 42,000 people homeless, according to civil defense data.
This Sunday, there were still places where rescuers could not reach, as flooding, bridge collapses and asphalt collapses completely or partially blocked more than 170 roads, the strength of the storm did not always allow rescue helicopters to fly out, and almost 70 people remained missing.
Author: Domingos Grilo Serrinha This correspondent in Brazil
Source: CM Jornal
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