Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
As a niece and granddaughter of teachers, I was constantly influenced to be familiar with literature and education. This contact was a really important part of my childhood and occurred through poems that my grandmother wrote and read to me after school. Today, they are underwater 18 km from where I am.
Since April 27th, the south of Brazil has recorded torrential rains that in 10 days produced the expected quantity for 3 months, resulted in floods. This excessive amount of water flowed through 425 of the 497 cities in Rio Grande do Sul. The state of calamity reached more than 160,000 people that were left homeless and then 100 that were dead and missing. The loss felt by mine and thousands of other families across southern Brazil is incalculable and goes far beyond financial.
The severity of these floods it’s not an isolated event, the Brazilian federal government has been issuing warnings since 2015 about extreme weather events, such as the floods in Lake Guaíba, although protective measures were not taken. Also, scientists have confirmed that these events are expected to occur more frequently, as evidenced by the recent floods in Rio Grande do Sul, which occurred within an 8-month interval.
The primary factor driving these extreme weather events is global warming, exacerbated by the greenhouse effect and phenomena such as El Niño, which are causing concern among people around the world, especially those living in the most extreme poles of our planet.
Unfortunately, after losing their homes, work and study tools, the victims of this environmental neglect resulting from decades are finding it very difficult to exercise their basic rights and return to normality in their lives. From another country, it always seems more difficult to know how to help, but you can through donations to UN agencies, so that together we can restructure the lives of those affected.
Inundações no Sul do Brasil: o que você precisa saber
Tempo estimado de leitura: 2 minutos
Confira o apelo que a nossa guerapezinha Joana, do Rio Grande Sul, e que foi diretamente afetada pelas chuvas, fez para o mundo:
Como sobrinha e neta de professores, fui constantemente influenciada a me familiarizar com a literatura e a educação.
Esse contato foi muito importante na minha infância e ocorreu através de poemas que minha avó escrevia e lia para mim depois da escola. Hoje, eles estão submersos a 18 km de onde estou.
Desde 27 de abril, o sul do Brasil registra chuvas torrenciais que em 10 dias produziram a quantidade esperada para 3 meses, resultando em fortes inundações. Essa quantidade excessiva de água percorreu 425 das 497 cidades do Rio Grande do Sul.
A gravidade dessas enchentes não é um evento isolado, o governo federal brasileiro vem emitindo alertas desde 2015 sobre eventos climáticos extremos, como as enchentes no Lago Guaíba agora no Brasil, embora medidas de proteção não tenham sido tomadas.
As recentes enchentes no Rio Grande do Sul ocorreram num intervalo de 8 meses, indicando um aumento na frequência, confirmado pelos cientistas.
O aquecimento global, agravado pelo efeito estufa e por fenômenos como o El Niño, é o principal motivador destes fenômenos climáticos.
Infelizmente, depois de perderem as suas casas, o trabalho e os materiais de estudo, as vítimas lutam para recuperar os direitos básicos e regressar à vida normal.
De outro país sempre parece mais difícil saber como ajudar, mas é possível através de doações às agências da ONU, para que juntos possamos reestruturar a vida das pessoas afetadas.
Resources:
- UNICEF Brasil: UNICEF is providing various forms of educational, recreational, and psychosocial emergency relief kits for affected communities, especially displaced women, children, and adolescents. From kits with support for water, hygiene and disease control to menstrual health and protection kits for girls, your donation will help provide immediate support.
- UNHCR: UNHCR is working with local partners and authorities to support hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people, including many refugees and migrants, who have been forced to flee their homes because of this major climate catastrophe. They urgently need your support to provide families who have lost everything with emergency relief items such as mattresses, blankets, hygiene kits and more.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog are the writer’s own.
