Greta Thunberg promotes the hashtag "SOS Bahia" in support of flood victims.
Environmental activist expresses solidarity with hundreds of thousands of people in Bahia affected by the natural disaster.
247 - Environmental activist Greta Thunberg, one of the most internationally recognized names in environmental advocacy, expressed solidarity with the victims of the floods in Bahia, launching the hashtag "SOS Bahia" on her social media. Greta was commenting on a Reuters report that highlighted the number of dead and homeless. Check it out and learn more:
Brazil Agency – The death toll from the heavy rains that hit the south-central region of Bahia has risen to 21. The tally was updated on Tuesday afternoon (28) by the state government.
The most recent death was that of a 19-year-old boy who tried to cross a flash flood in Ilhéus on Monday night (27), but ended up drowning. The number of injured remained at 358. A total of 136 municipalities in the state declared a state of emergency.
The number of homeless people is 34.163, while the number of displaced people totals 42.929. Displaced people are those who had to leave their place of residence, temporarily or permanently, but who do not depend on government-provided shelter. Homeless people, on the other hand, are those who had to leave their homes and depend on shelter provided by the public authorities.
In the morning, four ministers from the federal government flew over the rain-stricken regions of Bahia and met with the state governor, Rui Costa. They also announced measures to assist in the effort to help the displaced population and promised future resources for the reconstruction of infrastructure and housing.
Bahia is facing the worst rainfall for the month of December since 1989, according to the state government. The city of Itamaraju, in the south of the state, was the municipality where it rained the most in Brazil, with 769,8 millimeters (mm) of rain, according to data from the National Center for Monitoring and Alerts of Natural Disasters (Cemaden), which represents more than five times the volume expected for December (148,0 mm).
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