Porto Alegre City Hall plans to build a temporary city to house 10,000 people

The city council of Porto Alegre, in Rio Grande do Sul, is studying the possibility of building a “temporary city” in Porto Seco, in the north of the city. The objective is to shelter victims of the floods that hit the state of Rio Grande do Sul in recent days, while the affected neighborhoods are rebuilt.

According to information from the newspaper O Globo, the region chosen for the construction of the city is a place that has not suffered from floods, thus providing greater security for residents.

^{Families in shelters, in Porto Alegre (Photo: reproduction/Adriana Lampert/JC)}

The newspaper also points out that the temporary city can house up to 10 thousand people and also have a structure containing a school, market and security reinforced by the Armed Forces, with tents scattered around the site.

The entire project would be supported and financed by the federal government.

Porto Seco Cultural Complex

^{Sheds at the Porto Seco Cultural Complex (Photo: reproduction/Marcelo G. Ribeiro/JC)}

Currently, the location being considered is the headquarters of the Cultural Complex, where the city's Porto Alegre samba schools are located. With ten covered warehouses, the area would welcome tents and residents from Rio Grande do Sul to stay temporarily.

The information and details about the project are not yet being publicly discussed by the city hall. The idea will be presented to the governor of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite (PSDB) and later, if approved, taken to president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

To the newspaper Zero Hora, Luiz Otávio Prates, municipal secretary of Communication of Porto Alegre, stated that there is not much information about it. “We are still dealing with this issue and studying alternatives”.

State remains on alert

^{Ely Building, one of Porto Alegre's historic landmarks, partially flooded (Photo: reproduction/Nathan Lemos/JC)}

Most cities are still under water with no sign of diminishing. This Tuesday (14), Lake Guaíba, which borders the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, continued to rise.

On alert and with the rivers rising, more neighborhoods needed to be evacuated, as happened with the Lami neighborhood, located in the south of Porto de Alegre. Around 300 families had to leave their homes in the early hours of the morning.

Experts explain that too much rain in sequence makes it difficult for water to drain more quickly. This difficulty could lead to the capital of Rio Grande do Sul being underwater for up to a month.

Featured photo: Porto Alegre underwater (Reproduction/Nelson Almeida/AFP)