Entire cities in southern Brazil have been flooded as a climate catastrophe has struck Rio Grande do Sul.
Two of our partners based in southern Brazil have paused all operations to aid in the emergency relief effort, as more than 540,000 people have been made homeless, more than 800 people are injured, 155 lives have been lost, and 108 people are still missing.
“I think the town will become a river one day, and it will be difficult for us to live here. People with money are all leaving,” Maria Marlene Venancio, a resident of Muçum, a small town 150 km (90 miles) upriver from Porto Alegre, has told media agency Reuters.
The disaster reflects the reality of climate displacement and how poorer households, small communities, and Indigenous Peoples and traditional communities are being disproportionately affected by the climate change. Our partners Instituto Curicaca and Guarani Yvyrupa Commission (CGY) have paused all operations in the region to support the communities they work with.
The floods have endangered many lives, and rescue operations have evacuated many people and animals to shelters. Image © Shutterstock
Emergency aid
Instituto Curicaca, an organisation supported by our Amphibian Programme, has over a hundred volunteers on the ground working tirelessly alongside governments and civil society organisations to help people affected by the rising waters.
The volunteers are working in donation centres, shelters, community kitchens, transport and rescue operations, providing support in childcare and political support for Indigenous people. Embedded in the local communities, their team know precisely what is missing and who is in need to provide this support.
CGY, an Indigenous-led organisation that unites Brazil’s Mbya and Avá Guarani people, is focused on supporting over 60 Guarani tekoa (communities) in Rio Grande do Sul as many Indigenous families have been relocated to emergency shelters and lodgings, and many people are stranded without access to clean water, food, and electricity. Communities outside the flooding area are also being affected due to the disruption to the state’s infrastructure, preventing access to services and sources of income.
Our partners’ local networks and connections to the local communities affected by the disaster have meant they are able to provide valuable support to the emergency response. Image © Instituto Curicaca
Workshops for evacuated children
The first phase of the emergency aid effort has been around rescuing survivors, setting up shelters and directing people to them, providing first aid and collecting donations and supplies. The next phase will continue for months as the waters recede and then the infrastructure recovery and reorganisation may take much longer, so some communities may remain in refugee camps for years.
Instituto Curicaca and volunteers from the region are putting together workshops in shelters of Porto Alegre (the capital city of Rio Grande do Sul) using cooperative games, art therapy, and a light atmosphere of jokes and creativity to help young people cope with their situation and process what is happening.
It is estimated that 540,000 people have had to leave their homes, and more than 77,000 displaced people remain in public shelters. Image © Instituto Curicaca
Support the relief efforts
Synchronicity Earth and partners are providing some emergency funding to support the aid efforts in the wake of the flooding r