Severe storms and floods that devastated parts of Brazil have turned her life upside down and that of many others, leaving everyone struggling with immeasurable losses.
Severe flooding
As heavy rains fell on the night of May 3, a stream of people began to pour into the Lutheran University of Brazil in the city of Canoas, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the far south of Brazil. For a week, heavy rains had caused rivers to rise, flooding homes and forcing many to seek shelter. Three weeks later, the university had taken in thousands of people and become the largest shelter for flood evacuees. According to the state government, more than 580,000 people were displaced, including nearly 70,000 people living in safe shelters. A total of 2.3 million people were affected by the torrential rains and flooding.
On the campus of the Lutheran University of Brazil, makeshift tents, families, children and pets are everywhere, long lines form outside the toilets and people pray along the building's hallways.
Juan Romero, a 54-year-old carpenter who migrated from Venezuela, took refuge at the Lutheran school with his grandchildren after helping rescue some people in the Mathias Velho neighborhood. He only managed to retrieve important documents before the house was submerged in floodwaters.
Claudia Duarte, 59, moved to the second floor of her home, convinced that the water couldn’t get that high. But by the time rescuers arrived, the water was waist-deep. “It was like a sea of water outside, covering every roof. I even recorded a video to say goodbye to everyone,” Claudia Duarte said.
Also in Rio Grande do Sul state, the city of Eldorado do Sul was 98% flooded, forcing nearly its entire population to flee to neighboring towns. As the waters receded in some areas, driving through the streets was like driving through a giant junkyard, with piles of furniture, clothes, household items and personal effects piled on the sidewalks, and broken-down cars everywhere.
People were sleeping and eating in their cars and in makeshift tents on the side of the road. One man said he had been living in his car with his five dogs for three weeks because no shelter would accept them all.
In the city of Porto Alegre, William Santos, a 29-year-old volunteer, helped ferry neighbors across flooded areas in a small boat. Because he is often exposed to contaminated floodwaters, health workers have given him and other volunteers vaccines and medication to prevent infection.
In William Santos’s neighborhood, many residents have been without power for nearly three weeks. They hitchhike military trucks through flooded areas, then catch buses to relatives’ homes, where they can take hot showers and charge their phones.
Locals said the area had been flooded many times before, but never this severe.
As the floodwaters rose rapidly, Rosangela knew she was in danger. “I couldn’t swim, and the boat was so small, I was afraid I would die,” she recalled.
Survival skills during storms and floods
Climate change is the main cause of the increase in extreme weather events such as storms, floods, etc. in areas around the world. To cope with natural disasters, according to experts, the best and safest thing is to pay attention to evacuating to a safe place according to the instructions of the authorities. However, in many cases, you may encounter emergency situations, unexpected and unable to evacuate. What will you have to face in that situation?
NationalGeographic shares helpful tips on natural disaster survival skills from Tim MacWelch - expert of Ourdoor Life Magazine, he is also a survival coach, author of many New York Times best-selling survival guidebooks.
MacWelch said people should also be prepared with essentials such as drinking water, dry food, flashlights, first aid kits, medications, and other utilities. Experts also note that you should stock up on enough food and water to last at least a week. Although natural disaster situations often improve significantly within the first 72 hours, that is not always the case. If you have enough food and water for your family to cope with a natural disaster for a week, you are doing better than many others.
While a storm or flood is happening, the most important thing that everyone should do, even in other emergencies, is to stay calm. Fear is a natural human reaction when faced with a scary situation, an instinct that helps us stay away from danger. However, uncontrolled fear can easily turn into panic, causing you to act wrongly.
What to do if you are in the middle of a flood and have run out of clean water? You need to find a source of water and disinfect it. There are many ways to do this, find the cleanest water source possible, such as collecting rainwater or using the remaining water in the bathroom water heater. In case you cannot find a water source and can only use flood water - which is a mixture of mud, sewage and many toxic substances - find a simple distillation method to clean it. If that is not possible, the last option for you is to boil the flood water for 10 minutes to disinfect it, but only drink a very small amount, enough to quench your thirst.
Finding water and disinfecting it are top survival skills that everyone needs to know.
If you are injured in a severe storm or flood and cannot get medical attention, you should treat the wound first, disinfect it with clean water or alcohol, and keep it clean. Avoid wading in water when you do not know the terrain well, you may step on nails or sharp objects, the wound can easily lead to infection or tetanus.
In stormy weather conditions, how to keep your body warm? According to expert MacWelch, a small survival tip can help you. Use insulating materials such as crumpled paper, bubble wrap or even leaves to stuff inside your clothes. They will form a protective layer, preventing the body from losing heat.
On the other hand, survival experts emphasize that to best prepare for natural disasters and floods that can happen at any time, you should take necessary survival skills courses such as swimming, first aid, learning simple cooking methods, and how to treat clean water...
“Learn everything you can because it will definitely come in handy when a disaster strikes,” says Tim MacWelch.
