State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil - May 15, 2024

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Approximately 500,000 people had to leave their homes and more than 77,000 are in public shelters. Specialists warned that it may take a month or more for the floods to subside and that many residents have nowhere to return to.

That is why the local government is planning temporary structures, with individual dormitories, bathrooms, kitchens and laundry facilities for thousands of people who are currently staying in schools, churches or sports stadiums.

"Some of these people, unfortunately, have nowhere to go," Vice Governor Gabriel Souza of Rio Grande do Sul told Reuters in a telephone interview.

He acknowledged that once the flooding passes, many public buildings that currently serve as shelters will have to return to their normal functions and volunteers will have to return to their routines. In this situation, Souza said the government has already identified locations in Porto Alegre, and in nearby Canoas and Sao Leopoldo that meet the requirements to house the structures.

Authorities are also looking for at least one more serviced site in the heavily flooded city of Guaiba.

With images in association with Daniel Lanes - Filming by ai.

SHOTLIST
1. Various from the air.