Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil - Recent

Storyline:
Severe floods are continuing to wreak havoc in southern Brazil, with several thousands of residents displaced after buildings were submerged.

Residents of Eldorado do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, one of the areas hardest hit by the floods, are in limbo as they have been forced to evacuate their homes, unsure of when they'll be able to return.

Valdinei de Borba and his family chose to stay put, guarding their remaining belongings against potential looters. However, the rising floodwaters paint a grim picture. Once the water recedes, they say Eldorado do Sul will no longer be home as the floods have shattered their sense of security.

With Rio Grande do Sul reeling from the latest floods, geographers are using drones to create highly precise maps of the inundated areas, aiding critical rescue and relief efforts.

Porto Alegre, another Rio Grande do Sul city, is striving for carbon neutrality by 2050. But officials recognize that global decarbonization efforts might not fully prevent the consequences of climate change already underway.

According to a recent government report, nearly nine million people living in nearly 2,000 Brazilian cities face a high risk of flooding and landslides. And there are growing concerns about the safety of these populations as climate change makes extreme weather events more frequent and severe.

Shotlist:
Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil - Recent:
1. Aerial shots of flooded buildings;
2. Aerial shots of Valdinei de Borba, family on top of house;
3. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese, dubbed in English) Valdinei de Borba, resident (starting with shot 2/partially overlaid with shots 4-5/ending with shot 6):
"A friend of mine told me 20 years ago this would happen, and we didn't believe it, but it's happening. I think it will happen because the river passes here, it goes all around. It's not the river that is off its course; it's us who are in the river, so the situation is going to get worse. We believe this is happening because of the climate situation. We are preparing to leave. We will not stay."
[SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
4. Reporter;
5. Valdinei de Borba on top of house;
[SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
6. Valdinei de Borba on top of house;
7. Various of geographers using drone to map flooded area;
8. Aerial shot of flooded buildings;
9. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese, dubbed in English) Dilermando Cattaneo, geography professor, Rio Grande do Sul Federal University (starting with shot 8/partially overlaid with shot 10):
"There is imprecision for them to know whether they need to go by boat or by land. In this regard, we are trying to improve this, the flood area, to facilitate their work. What we empirically observe, and studies have proven, is that we will increasingly have a sequence of events with greater intensity and frequency."
[SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
10. Aerial shot of flooded buildings;
[SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
11. Various of Germano Bremm, environment secretary of Porto Alegre, talking to reporter;
12. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese, dubbed in English) Germano Bremm, environment secretary of Porto Alegre:
"There are a number of projects to encourage this shift in the energy matrix and transportation, and at the same time, work on the agenda of adaptation, resilience of the city. Because we are indeed going to have more and more extreme events, with intense heat, landslides, storms and rains. And unfortunately, this is what we have been experiencing here in Porto Alegre, in Rio Grande do Sul."
13. Aerial shots of flooded buildings.

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