Porto Alegre, the capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, spent only BRL 11.6 million (USD 2.2 million) on emergency management services since 2021, according to data published by the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper on Monday.
The amount is a minimal fraction of the city’s combined budget in the period, of almost BRL 27 billion (USD 5.3 billion).
Smaller cities such as Canoas, which was also ravaged by floods, spent more than the capital in emergency management.
The expenditure goes to both preventive actions as well as relief, assistance, or reconstructive policies aimed at avoiding disasters or minimizing their impacts.
As The Brazilian Report showed earlier this month, a lack of upkeep of the city’s dikes and pumping stations contributed to making the flood’s impacts worse. The infrastructure was built in the 1970s, decades after a major flood in 1941, the worst in the city’s history until it was surpassed a few weeks ago — despite the dikes.
Porto Alegre — a city of 1.3 million people — was developed in an alluvial plain, a mainly flat land area adjacent to a body of water, and thus subject to floods. The city’s international airport has been closed since May 3. The city also houses a U.S. Consulate, which has closed until June 8 for routine appointments.
Rio Grande do Sul Lieutenant Governor Gabriel Souza said in an interview last week he is considering relocating entire cities after the floods that ravaged Brazil’s southernmost state.
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