STORY: :: This Brazilian man is using a wheel loader
to help people in his flooded community
:: May 7, 2024
:: Eldorado do Sul, Brazil
:: The death toll from heavy rains has climbed
to 100 with more than 163,000 displaced
:: Daniel Farias, Wheel loader driver
"What we're going through here is something out of the ordinary. I could take my children who are here with me, I'm living in this machine that is my house, I could go somewhere else. I chose to be here rescuing, and helping people, because we're in the same situation. My house is here, full of water. I'm here and my children are here, surviving this calamity and I believe it will all pass."
The death toll from heavy rains that swamped Rio Grande do Sul in recent days has climbed to 100, the local civil defense authority said on Wednesday (May 8), as Brazil's southernmost state braces for more rain in coming days.
The group said 128 people are still missing.
Government officials reiterated that help was coming, with the federal government saying it would soon announce credit lines to assist companies, farmers, cities and the state government.
