Brazil: Flooding in Rio Grande do Sul – United Nations Situation Report, as of September 20, 2024 – Brazil

This report was produced with the support of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and covers the period from 13 July to 18 September. This report is the last report produced in relation to the emergency, unless the situation warrants additional reporting based on a deterioration of humanitarian conditions in the country.

IMPORTANT MESSAGES

• In coordination with the State authorities, IOM is responsible for the management of the three Humanitarian Reception Centres (CHA), which housed 803 people as of 13 September. The CHAs are located in the city of Porto Alegre (1) and in the city of Canoas (2). UNHCR continues to provide counselling, material and financial assistance to families affected by the floods in Vale do Taquari, targeting so far more than 1,066 families, including 2,440 people. The IOM, UNHCR and UNFPA teams are involved in Shelter Management (CCCM) and Non-Food items and have worked together on cross-cutting actions.

• UNHCR, IOM, UNFPA, UNICEF and OHCHR launched the Local Task Force on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) to boost efforts on prevention and response to sexual misconduct in the emergency response. This initiative was strengthened by the official visit of the Special Coordinator for Improving the UN Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, Mr Christian Saunders, to Porto Alegre at the end of August.

• The Protection Working Group was established with the support of UN agencies under the leadership of the State Department of Social Development (SEDES) and co-lead by the Ministry of Social Development (MDS), with the aim of better coordinating operational responses and advocacy in the areas of access to justice and information, child protection, protection from gender-based violence, protection of minority groups, refugee protection, housing, land and property affairs (HLP) and mainstreaming of protection.

• Although access to water has returned to normal, concerns remain among the population about the potability of the water supply. UNICEF has worked with Vigiagua (Water Quality Department) and DMAE (Water and Sanitation Municipal Department) to disseminate the results of the water analysis to the population.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Five months after the historic floods that hit the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul on April 29, 2024, the UN, led by the Resident Coordinator, continues to support national and local government recovery efforts. According to the latest official report on August 20, the floods affected nearly 2.4 million people, leaving 183 dead, 27 missing and widespread damage in 478 municipalities in the state. The recovery and restoration efforts have allowed the resumption of basic services, such as health, education and transportation, in several municipalities, although there has been a noticeable reduction in capacity in some areas.

UN agencies have contributed to various sectors, including health and social protection. Despite an overall return to normality, humanitarian interventions continue to target the most vulnerable and affected populations. At the height of the emergency, nearly 600,000 people were displaced, with more than 80,000 sheltered in official facilities in the state, increasing the protection needs of vulnerable groups, including women, girls, young children and the elderly. Although water levels have receded and access to basic services such as health, water, sanitation and education has been restored, concerns remain about the quality of these services. Significant challenges remain to restore them to pre-flood standards. At the same time, state authorities have expressed concerns about the weather forecast expected in the coming weeks. Between 1 and 17 September, seven warnings were issued by the Civil Protection regarding heavy rainfall, localised flooding risks, electrical discharges and the possibility of hail in various regions of the state.