Rio Grande do Sul Under Red Alerts as Severe Storms Return

Overview

• The national meteorological agency Inmet issued a red-level warning and the state Defesa Civil placed points on the Uruguai, Jacuí and Sinos rivers under red inundation alerts as storms returned to the state.
• By Tuesday the state was being monitored for very heavy short-term totals that models show can exceed 100 mm in 12 hours and 200–250 mm in 48 hours, increasing the chance of flash floods and fast-moving river rises.
• Official counts show about 59,967 people affected across roughly 218 municipalities with 488 people in shelters and hundreds more displaced to friends or family while local reports document large hail and wind damage to dozens of towns.
• State and federal civil-defense teams are operating on the ground through July 31, distributing tarps and supplies, running shelters, updating contingency plans and using expanded radar and hydrological monitoring to target evacuations.
• Authorities warn that already saturated soils and elevated river levels will speed flood peaks downstream and that successive episodes forecast into early August could prolong damage, disruption and recovery needs.