Porto Alegre could ‘still be dry’ if flood protection systems worked properly

Floods are a common occurrence in Brazilian cities. Every year, thousands of regions nationwide suffer from deluges worsened by a notorious lack of urban planning amid a climate emergency of which developing nations bear the brunt.

Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s southernmost state, is no stranger to heavy rains and the damage they can cause. Last year, an extratropical cyclone hit Brazil’s South region, causing heavy rains and floods and killing dozens of people. 

Seven months later, the region is facing similar — yet more severe — challenges. The last ten days has seen 25 percent of the precipitation expected for the entire year in Rio Grande do Sul. According to Ogmet, a meteorological service, eight of the ten cities where it rained the most in the world last Thursday were located in Brazil’s southernmost state.

Widespread material destruction has been felt in more than 77 percent of Rio Grande do Sul’s 495 municipalities, and 95 deaths have been recorded so far with another 134 people missing. An estimated 1.4 million people have been affected by the floods, while more than 200,000 have been forced from their homes. 

In Porto Alegre, the state capital — home to a metropolitan region with a population of more than 4.4 million — more than 85 percent of households have no access to drinking water. The historical center of the city is under water after the nearby Guaiba River spilled over 3-meter-high floodgates.

Sérgio Hoff, a 39-year-old bank clerk in the city of Canoas, adjacent to Porto Alegre, complains that the response of municipal and state authorities has been slow — and it has been civil society that has stepped in to fill the void. 

“At first, [municipal and state officials] sent a flood alert basically telling citizens to get by with what they have. We were left to our own devices,” Mr. Hoff explains, adding that he lost all of his possessions, including his house.

“I wasn’t able to speak to my father or my uncle, both fishermen, because they were stranded for days helping neighbors trapped in their houses with their boats, as there was no heavy state presence there.”

Stories such as these are almost as widespread as the destruction. For public school teacher Renato Levin Borges, 41, it was the efforts of civilians like him and many others in the region that mitigated the impacts of the floods.

With thousands of followers on his social media accounts, Mr. Borges is using his spare time from school to help gather and organize updated information about the ongoing crisis.   

“Although I don’t have a huge reach, I do have some, so I’ve been focusing on that. My biggest role has really been to organize information, always trying to keep people informed because the scenario changes a lot,” he explains, adding that he is also receiving numerous requests for rescue in different cities around Greater Porto Alegre.

Social media has been an integral part of coordinating rescues, be they of citizens, pets, or livestock. Marina Pombo has stepped in as a rescue worker over the last few days and saw how fast citizens are answering the call, in contrast to both municipal and state officials.

“We found out that our map of the floods, made by a researcher, was more up-to-date than the one used by the emergency services,” Ms. Pombo tells The Brazilian Report, describing the official response to the crisis as a disservice to local residents.

Investigations into why Porto Alegre’s flood control systems malfunctioned are still ongoing, but Rodrigo Paiva, a researcher at the Institute of Hydraulic Research (IPH-UFRGS), tells The Brazilian Report that what happened in Rio Grande do Sul was indeed an extreme event that broke all existing records. 

The current system of flood protection around Porto Alegre was put in place after floods in 1941. In theory, it was supposed to protect the city from water levels of at least 6 meters above average — which would mean that the system was intended to withstand the current levels of the Guaiba River.

“What happened was that some of these floodgates failed, one of them broke, others were not sealed correctly and allowed water to enter, and the water pumps couldn’t cope with the flow,” Mr. Paiva explains, saying the system of dykes was effective in protecting against this flood, first and foremost by delaying the impact. 

“If we didn’t have such a system, the destruction would have been far greater. But on the other hand, the operation and maintenance of these levees wasn’t perfect. If it were, Porto Alegre would still be dry.”

The climate crisis in Rio Grande do Sul is far from over. Further downpours and lower temperatures are forecast for this week and over the weekend, putting even more pressure on both civil society and government efforts.

Even worse, the water level is expected to descend slowly. According to recent simulations carried out by IPH-UFRGS, the Guaiba River is set to remain above 5 meters high for the next few days. In the 1941 flood, it took 32 days for the level to drop below 3 meters and below the floodgates.

Politically, the crisis has prompted Eduardo Leite, the state governor to ask for a Marshall Plan-like program to rebuild Rio Grande do Sul. 

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has already visited the region on more than one occasion and declared a state of calamity in 336 of the 495 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul on Sunday, which helps speed up the receipt of federal funds for economic recovery.

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