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STORY: UNHCR / BRAZIL FLOODS
TRT: 04:23
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: PORTUGUESE / SPANISH / NATS
DATELINE: PLEASE SEE SHOTLIST FOR DETAILS
16 MAY 2024, ULBRA, CANOAS, BRAZIL
1. Various shots, UNHCR staff visiting temporary shelter
2. Various shots, people affected by floods receiving medical aid
3. Various shots, UNHCR staff monitoring situation in temporary shelter
4. Various shots, temporary shelter
5. Various shots, volunteers organizing food rations
6. Various shots, children playing
7. Various shots, UNHCR staff talking to Brazilian man affected by floods
8. Various shots, temporary shelter
9. Various shots, UNHCR staff playing with children, talking to Haitian women affected by floods, talking to a Venezuelan man affected by floods, walking inside shelter
22 MAY 2024, SHELTER CENTRO VIDA, PORTO ALEGRE, BRAZIL
10. Various shots, Venezuelan woman, UNHCR staff, temporary shelter
11. Various shots, child playing with book, UNHCR staff conducting interviews, Venezuelan man resting, temporary shelter
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), devastating floods have affected 93 percent of the cities in Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.
UNHCR, in coordination with national authorities, is expanding its response to meet the needs of the most vulnerable people affected – including 43,000 refugees and other persons in need of international protection, mainly Venezuelans, Haitians, and Cubans along with local communities hosting them.
The floods – the biggest-ever-climate-related disaster in Southern Brazil – have caused at least 163 deaths and displaced some 580,000 persons.
More than 65,000 are sheltered in improvised collective centers.
A UNHCR team specialized in shelter management, documentation, and the prevention of gender-based violence has been deployed to the frontlines and is coordinating with the authorities the reception of the relief items dispatched by UNHCR from different warehouses.
The team is also providing technical assistance to improve the running of shelters, especially in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre, the state capital.
Additionally, UNHCR is visiting shelters to identify and interview refugees, and other persons in need of international protection, and migrants to assess their needs, provide emergency aid, and support the most urgent cases.
People interviewed by UNHCR have expressed concern about their future as they had their homes destroyed and their businesses affected.
They do not know when they will be able to leave the shelters and where they will return to.
Many have lost their documents.
UNHCR, with partner institutions, is prioritizing the re-issuance of their documentation and ensuring they have access to the government's assistance.
Extreme weather events in Brazil have been more frequent and devastating in recent years, including droughts in the Amazon region and severe rains in Bahia and Acre states.
Climate change has disproportionately affected refugees and other people in need of international protection, who are already living in vulnerable areas prone to the effects of extreme and recurrent climate events.
