From Brasilia, Cláudia Lisboa is helping her son-in-law locate his great-aunt, Maria Amenaide, who lives in Guaíba, in Rio Grande do Sul, a state devastated by floods. This Sunday marked 24 hours since the family heard from the 84-year-old, who takes controlled medication and is deaf.
"She was with her carer at the time of the rescue, but they left her dog, Obama, behind. The carer went to one place and she went to another. We suspect that she went back [home] to get the dog," Lisboa told DW.
Regina Oliveira has spent the last two days looking for her father, Pedro Paulo, 93, who went missing in Canoas. From Novo Hamburgo, about 30 kilometers away, Silva's relatives are looking for information and mobilizing whoever they can, as the bridges linking the two cities are closed due to flooding.
In the city, Civil Protection is using every possible channel to ask residents to evacuate and take their pets with them. Powerless in the face of the catastrophe, the town hall is asking for help from volunteers with boats to evacuate those who are isolated.
Waiting for rescue
There have been countless calls for help from various flooded cities.
From the capital Porto Alegre, Renata Rodrigues is asking for help for elderly couple Jane and Charles. They live in Farrapos, a humble neighborhood on the banks of the Jacuí River, and report that the water has reached the second floor of their house.
"They're relatives of my work colleague. We're in a task force not just for them, but for many people in the region. We got around 150 people out," Rodrigues told DW.
The neighborhood where he lives, Bom Fim, wasn't affected by the flooding, but the house has become a shelter for friends who have lost everything. "Right now I'm getting organized to go to the shelter I'm helping to organize to see what we'll do today," says Rodrigues.
In Eldorado do Sul, a couple and two children use the remaining battery in their cell phones to send out distress calls. Bruna Karpinski is a friend of theirs, and hopes that they will be rescued soon, she tells DW.
Tragedy in the making
The National Civil Protection estimates that there are at least 2,500 rescue requests. According to the agency's most recent bulletin, 341 municipalities in the state have been affected by the extreme rainfall.
There are more than 115,000 displaced people, temporarily sheltering with friends or family, and more than 18,000 others are in temporary shelters organized by the public authorities
So far, 83 deaths have been confirmed and 105 people are missing. In all, it is estimated that more than 844,000 inhabitants in Rio Grande do Sul have been affected.
The local utility reported that, as of Sunday morning, there were 421,000 homes without electricity. Most were disconnected from the grid for safety reasons due to flooded areas.
Little rain is expected in the coming hours. The hydrological situation, the movement of water, will remain critical in Greater Porto Alegre.
Portugal expresses solidarity with Brazil
On Monday, the Portuguese government expressed its solidarity with the Brazilian authorities over the floods in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
"The government stands in solidarity with the Brazilian people at this time of enormous difficulty caused by the terrible floods in the state of Rio Grande do Sul," wrote the office of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel, in a message on the official account of the social network X (formerly Twitter).
In the same message, the Portuguese government offered its condolences to President Lula da Silva and the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite, expressing Portugal's "full support".
