Design Studio Flood

On April 29, 2024, the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul received three times the average rainfall for this time of year, which continued until Saturday, May 4, and totaled over 400 millimetres, in addition to the 300 millimetres that had fallen in the previous four days.

In total, 445 of the 496 municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul reported flooding, affecting 1.7 million people, mainly in the urban region of Porto Alegre, the Vale do Rio Pardo, Vale do Taquari and the Serra Gaúcha. The Taquari catchment area in particular experienced heavy rainfall and corresponding water levels.

The river reached a level of 30.27 meters, well above the HK100 of 18 meters. According to the Civil Defense bulletin released on May 11 at 12:2024, more than 300 people were missing or killed and over 800 injured. The Office of Civil Defense estimates that more than 70,000 people are homeless and a total of over 300,000 people have been displaced. The death toll has risen to 136.

TU Wien maintains partnership agreements with several universities in southern Brazil. With this initiative, we want to support the activities of colleagues in Brazil and local NGOs that are already underway. The Vale do Taquari has been hit by three major floods in recent months: in September and November 2023 and in May 2024. The high flow velocity of the river devastated large parts of the settlement areas. In the Taquari Valley alone, it is estimated that 11,000 houses were destroyed and thousands of residents are still housed in emergency shelters. The University of Vale do Taquari - Univates - is currently investigating unused areas for an organized reurbanization of the valley, and we want to support these efforts with our planning, from systemic prototypical approaches to concrete project proposals, from settlement spatial scales to functional, affordable and adaptable floor plans.