Storm in Rio Grande do Sul leaves four dead and one missing

The number of deaths in the storm that hit Rio Grande do Sul rose to four. A woman is missing.

The search for Eliane Nunes da Silva, 43, continues in Serra Gaúcha. The car she was driving was taken, on Monday (21), into a river by floodwaters. As it stopped raining this Tuesday (22) and the river dropped significantly, firefighters and Red Cross volunteers were able to travel through areas that were previously blocked by the current.

In the morning, rescue teams found the body of Eliane's son on the riverbank. Juliano Cesar da Silva was 4 years old. His sister, Joziane da Silva Rodrigues, 13, also died and her body was recovered on Monday (21). The children's father accompanied the search.

"It's a pain that has no end, the emptiness will never be erased. There are two pieces of us that left", laments Joel Rodrigues, the children's father.

Also in Caxias do Sul, the body of Edson Luis da Silva, aged 46, was found in a watercourse. He was sucked into a culvert during the rain.

The number of deaths in the storm that hit Rio Grande do Sul rises to 4; a woman is missing — Photo: Jornal Nacional/ Reproduction

The storms on Monday (21) left almost 4 thousand people outside their homes in Rio Grande do Sul; 155 municipalities suffered damage.

"It was horrible, horrible. It took everything away, the tiles broke, they came off, it was everything, everything and the rain", says housewife Evanete Gutierres.

In São Sebastião do Caí, the river overflowed this morning and 200 people needed shelter. Some families were rescued by boat. The water only started to recede in the afternoon.

“It's horrible because we always have that trauma from that flood in 2024, where I lost everything”, says retired teacher Lucia Maria Rodrigues.

In Lajeado, in the Taquari Valley, the water came to cover the houses. The river has also started to recede, but around 200 people remain in shelters. This is the case of housewife Cintia Diane Martins Machado, who has already experienced four floods and left home with her three children:

"It's a pain in our chest to have to leave our home and have to bring our little things because we don't have much. And what we have, we want to bring because we don't want to lose any more."