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Luana da Luz is among hundreds of Brazilians who have packed up
their belongings in an effort to escape the rising waters.
"Since dawn, we saw that (the water) was going to flood (our
house) and we were putting things on top of the table, on top of
the wood stove, but it didn't help," said Da Luz, a resident of
the town of Passo Fundo in the southern state of Rio Grande Sul,
where state authorities have confirmed the deaths of 21 people.
An additional victim was confirmed in the neighboring state of
Santa Catarina, according to local authorities.
Video obtained by Reuters showed houses in Mucum submerged by
rising water, while streets and rivers were also flooded.
Dozens of homes had their roofs damaged by a hailstorm and
hundreds of people are without contact in Rio Grande do Sul.
Brazil's federal government has announced some measures to
respond to the disaster, and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
promised his government would do whatever is necessary to "save
people from these problems."
"I feel devastated. I lost everything," said Dice Reginatto,
from the city of Nova Bassano in Rio Grande do Sul. "There are
many people who lost much more, but here at home I have nothing
left."
(Reporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by
Brendan O'Boyle and Sandra Maler)
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