ADRA Delivering Aid to Survivors of Brazil’s Worst Flooding
SILVER SPRING, Md. – Following extensive flooding that has so far left more than 700 people dead in Brazil’s mountainous state of Rio de Janeiro, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is delivering relief aid to survivors in some of the worst hit areas.
To meet the immediate needs of survivors, ADRA is providing essential hygiene kits to benefit 400 households, or approximately 2,000 people, who were left homeless by mudslides. This assistance, which includes toothbrushes, bathing soap, infant soap, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, combs, sanitary pads, and washing soap, is expected to meet the hygiene needs of a family of five for up to a month.
In addition, a $100,000 donation from the United States Embassy in Brasilia will also help ADRA deliver additional assistance to affected families in the region.
ADRA is working closely with local government authorities, the Civil Defense, and trained volunteers to ensure efficient distribution of relief materials. Priority is being given to women-headed families, families with disabled children or elderly dependents, and families whose members were directly impacted.
In early January, heavy rainfall saturated mountainsides causing a series of mudslides that affected several towns in the state, including Teresópolis, Nova Friburgo, Petrópolis, Sumidouro and São José do Vale do Rio Preto.
The inundation of the region’s Santo Antonio River resulted in extensive flooding and mudslides, which leveled homes, swept away cars, toppled electrical lines and caused extensive road damage. Throughout the state, large urban areas were buried under tons of rocks, sand and debris. In some neighborhoods, it is feared that hundreds of residents may still be buried under the sludge. According to the United Nations, the recent mudslides rank among the 10 worst in the world.
