Authorities are searching for 46 missing people in the week following a cyclone in Brazil. Homeless 25 thousand

A week after the cyclone devastated the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the far south of the country, on Monday and Tuesday last week, rescue teams are still searching for 46 missing people. The official death toll from the tragedy also stood at 46 until the latest report published by the regional Civil Protection, but the number of missing people has raised fears that the death toll will rise significantly.

In Rio Grande do Sul, which is two and a half times the size of Portugal and has almost the same population, 93 towns were hit by the storm, which started with very strong winds followed by heavy rains that caused some rivers to flood . will rise 17 meters above normal levels and flood entire cities. At least 79 of these cities have declared a state of emergency.

Until Monday, the number of displaced people continued to rise as rivers that had devastated parts of the central part of the state for a week now carry excess water to other regions, causing damage in new areas. In addition, according to the latest Civil Protection report, the total number of injured people requiring hospital care has also increased, reaching 924 people so far.

This Sunday, with a much-criticized delay directed mainly at President Lula da Silva, who did not travel to the state citing health concerns but took a 24-hour flight to attend the G20 summit in India, the central government came out with statement. forces in Rio Grande do Sul. The Vice-President of the Republic, Geraldo Alckmin, visited the region, accompanied by eight ministers, several secretaries of state and many technical specialists, and promised, among other things, a budget of R$ 140 million for Rio Grande do Sul, one of the states in which Lula da Silva received the most rejections in last year’s presidential election.