Together with the Emergency Coordination of the Focolare Movement and Action for New Families ONLUS (AFN), we have launched an extraordinary fundraiser to support the population of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil.
The heavy rains that have been hitting southern Brazil since early May 2024 have caused heavy flooding and landslides in 425 municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, directly affecting 1.5 million people and, for the moment, causing 108 deaths and almost 130 missing.
According to the latest official report, 232,675 people are still displaced from their homes, of whom 65,573 are sheltered.
The most worrying situation is in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre, where entire cities and neighborhoods have been under water since Friday, May 2, with problems of water supply and power cuts. According to weather forecasts, heavy rains are expected in the coming days, which will further aggravate the situation of this natural disaster. The donations will be managed jointly by AMU and AFN in coordination with the Focolare Movement in Brazil to provide the populations affected by the severe floods with basic necessities such as food, medical care and housing.