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Brazil flooding forces prepare for 'camping tent cities' to house the displaced

Brazil's southernmost state is planning at least 4 camping tent cities to accommodate some 8,000 people presently in improvised shelters due to the historic floods that have actually devastated the area.

Heavy rains given that the end of April triggered record floods that eliminated a minimum of 151 people in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and left more than 100 still missing out on, according to state authorities.

Roughly half a million people have actually fled their homes, with over 77,000 presently in public shelters. Scientists alert it may take a month or more for the flooding to subside, and lots of citizens have no homes delegated go back to.

The state federal government is preparing temporary structures, with private bed rooms and collective restrooms, cooking areas and laundry for thousands of individuals now sheltering in schools, churches and sports arenas, said Vice-Governor Gabriel Souza.

Part of these people, regrettably, have no place to go, he told in a telephone interview.

Lots of public structures serving as shelters will need to go back to their normal functions, he included, and the volunteers serving their requirement to resume their routines.

Souza stated the federal government has actually recognized locations in state capital Porto Alegre and neighboring Canoas and Sao Leopoldo that meet requirements to host the structures.

Authorities are also looking for at least another serviceable place in the greatly flooded city of Guaiba.

Of the approximately 50,000 individuals in public shelters in those 4 cities, the state federal government approximates that around 15% will requirement longer-term lodging in the momentary structures. The bulk are anticipated to either go back to their homes or find alternatives such as staying with loved ones.

The United Nations refugee company (UNHCR) has announced the contribution to Rio Grande do Sul of 108 units of a short-lived structure typically used in refugee camps.

These are those little houses that are modular, they can be put together in different ways, whether to accommodate households or people, or to form, for instance, an assistance space for volunteers, stated UNHCR official Silvia Sander.

(source: Reuters)