The government said on Wednesday that nearly a quarter of a million families affected by the disastrous floods in the southern region of Brazil will get roughly $1,000 each to help replace what they lost.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made his third trip to the affected Rio Grande do Sul region since the floods started about two weeks ago, which resulted in the deaths of 149 people and the displacement of over 500,000 people.
Tens of thousands of people have been forced to seek shelter at improvised shelters amid the rubble of hundreds of drowned cities and villages, where more than 100 people are still missing.
Although the exact amount of the damage is yet unknown, the government has already committed $10 billion and the BRICS group of nations another billion to the area.
“We will spare no effort to help people rebuild their lives,” Lula said Wednesday in the hard-hit city of Sao Leopoldo, north of the flooded state capital Porto Alegre.
The government said it would give 5,100 reais (nearly $1,000) to each of about 240,000 affected families.
It also announced plans to purchase new homes from the private sector to give to victims currently scattered between shelters and relatives.
The government reported that 600 newly constructed homes and approximately 14,000 housing units under construction are located in the region.
Flood victims will also be compensated with properties that were seized following court orders for nonpayment.
In light of the disaster, the Brazilian Football Confederation announced on Wednesday that it would be postponing the Brasileiro tournament.
The training facilities and stadiums of Gremio and Internacional, the two largest football clubs in Porto Alegre, were completely submerged under water.
At least seven rivers were still above flood levels on Wednesday as the area saw intermittent rainfall.
