BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhua) -- After a brief pause in wind and rain, rain fell again in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul on May 10, and post-disaster rescue and reconstruction efforts are facing challenges.
Earlier in the day, in the state capital, Porto Alegre, some shops reopened as floodwaters began to recede and people tried to return to normal life. Soon after, however, the sky was overcast and it began to rain heavily.
The meteorological department said that most cities in Rio Grande do Sul received rain on the 10th, and the risk of storms is high, and the rain is expected to continue until the 13th, with 200 mm of rain in some areas.
Since April 29, the state of Rio Grande do Sul has been hit by the worst natural disaster in history, with days of torrential rains causing floods and landslides. As of the 10th of this month, at least 126 people have died, 756 have been injured and 141 missing, according to the state's civil protection department. Another 411,000 people were homeless and more than 71,000 were placed in shelters, totaling nearly 2 million people affected by the floods.
Earlier this week, the water level of the Guaiba River, which flows through Porto Alegre, reached an all-time high. In Porto Alegre, bottled drinking water has become scarce due to ongoing water supply disruptions, and many hospitals and shelters have had to rely on water trucks to meet their drinking water needs.
In the city of South El Doradu, where floodwaters flooded the streets, rescuers took boats to deliver food to the stranded. Resident Katiana Melo told AFP that the flood water had risen to the second floor of her house and she had to leave her home. "We lost our livelihood, we lost our shop, we lost our house."
According to state government statistics, more than 385,000 people are still without water supply, and about 20 cities have lost communications.
Rio Grande do Sul, an important grain producing region in Brazil, has been hit hard by the floods. Farmer Daniel Darbosco said his crops were inundated by "two-metre-deep floods". Brazil's federal government has announced the import of 200,000 tonnes of rice to stabilize market supply and prevent price hikes.
In order to assist the disaster area, the Brazilian federal government announced a series of measures on the 9th, including early payment of social benefits, and credit with lower interest rates to farmers and enterprises.
Eduardo Wright, the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, said earlier this week that preliminary calculations showed that at least 19 billion reais ($3.68 billion) would be needed to rebuild after the disaster.
Claire Nallis, a spokeswoman for the World Meteorological Organization, said at a recent press conference that the disaster in Rio Grande do Sul was the result of "the double whammy of El Niño and climate change." "Even if El Niño does not exist, the long-term effects of climate change will be with us. Every degree of temperature increase means that our weather becomes more extreme. (Li Yannan)