UN delivers prefabricated houses within hours to help flood victims in southern Brazil

The UN has already begun delivering several units of prefabricated housing to the government of Rio Grande do Sul to help victims of the floods that have devastated the Brazilian state since April 29, leaving at least 163 people dead, 72 missing and more than 650,000 people injured. . homeless. The first units have already arrived in Porto Alegre, the state capital, and the rest will arrive in the coming days.

UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, is due to deliver to Rio Grande do Sul in the next few days, in addition to the eight it has already delivered this week, another 200 temporary shelter kits already used in other emergencies or wars such as Iraq, Uganda and Ukraine. The kits that have already arrived were used in Boa Vista, the capital of the Brazilian state of Roraima, on the border with Venezuela, to shelter migrants fleeing hunger in that country, while the rest will be sent by UN offices in Colombia and Panama. .

The houses are delivered unassembled, in two large flat boxes with all the parts included, including the large panels that form the walls and ceiling, the door, the lamp and the charger, the latter two powered by solar energy. Homes are ready in just a few hours of assembly and can be used the same day of receipt.

It is estimated that at least a thousand people will be able to live in these temporary homes provided by the UN until they return to the homes they lived in or find another one. This Thursday, May 23, of the more than 650,000 people displaced in Rio Grande do Sul by the worst climate tragedy in this southern Brazilian state, 68,300 were still in makeshift shelters in schools, gyms and other temporary places, along with the others. finding refuge in the homes of family and friends, in a temporary situation.

During his visit to the state this week, Lula da Silva promised that Brazil’s central government would buy houses for all the people who lost their homes, but mayors of the hardest-hit cities have already publicly said that promise cannot be fulfilled because of the floods. They destroyed at least 300,000 properties across Rio Grande do Sul, including houses that were about to be sold and others under construction.

In an attempt to at least mitigate this gigantic social drama, the state government announced an emergency meeting of several “temporary cities” with structures usually used for large events, but adapted to receive and accommodate people, entire families, the elderly, children and even pets. These large structures, which will be assembled by specialized companies, will contain dormitories, bathrooms, kitchens and shared laundry facilities, as well as schools, medical facilities and even supermarkets.