Heavy rains have wreaked havoc in Rio Grande do Sul, disrupting essential services and leaving 854,486 people without access to clean water.
This figure accounts for 27% of all homes served by the state’s water utility, Corsan. Such a large-scale disruption in water supply directly affects public health and daily life for countless families.
The storms also resulted in widespread power outages, with over 424,000 customers facing blackouts across the region.
In the RGE Sul service area, 261,000 households lost power, representing 27% of their customer base.
Meanwhile, CEEE Equatorial reported that 163,000 homes lost electricity, or about 9% of their users.
The telecommunications infrastructure also took a hit. Vivo has outages across 40 municipalities, TIM in 34, and Claro in 24.
Providers have enabled network roaming, allowing customers to use any available network to stay connected.
In addition, transportation networks faced significant damage, leading to partial or complete closures across 110 segments of 61 highways, including bridges.
The Autonomous Department of Roads (Daer) and the Military Brigade’s Highway Command (CRBM) reported impacts.
Both public and private roads managed by Empresa Gaúcha de Rodovias (EGR) have been affected.
Infrastructure Disruptions and Educational Impact
The Secretariat of Logistics and Transport is urgently working to clear these roads, allowing vehicles and pedestrians to safely pass through.
These disruptions have also affected the region’s educational institutions.
A total of 733 schools across 229 municipalities have been damaged or turned into emergency shelters, affecting 247,228 students.
Some have been rendered inaccessible or have lost transportation, making it impossible for students to attend classes.
The state’s education department will issue instructions on when classes can safely resume.
This crisis illustrates the urgent need to bolster infrastructure against extreme weather events to protect vital services and ensure the community’s safety and resilience.