South still reeling from massive flooding

Area faces risk from new storms

- MAURICIO SAVARESE AND GABRIELA SA PESSOA

A volunteer rescues a woman from a flooded area in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil, Wednesday.

PORTO ALEGRE, BRAZIL As major floods engulfed entire cities in the northern part of the Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state last week, meteorologist Estael Sias knew the water would drain into capital Porto Alegre’s metropolitan region and that she would need to find a safe place.

So she, her husband, three children, and two dogs left everything behind. Less than 24 hours later, water started filling her neighbourhood in Canoas, now one of the state’s most affected cities.