A motorcycle courier is being hailed as a hero after he rescued nine cats from a flooded house in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul.
Dramatic video showed Geovane de Oliveira, 31, carrying a kennel of cats and leaving his friend Vinicius Machado’s residence as waves from Lake Guibá lashed a neighborhood on the south side of Porto Alegre, the state capital.
De Oliveira could be seen holding the kennel over his right shoulder and slowly walking through the waist-deep flooded street as Machado followed him.
‘I thought I wasn’t going to make it. “I couldn’t get up,” de Oliveira told a Brazilian media outlet. G1.
The rescue, which took place on Monday morning, was completed with three trips.
Geovane de Oliveira helped rescue nine cats and a dog who were trapped inside a flooded house in Porto Alegre, the capital of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, where 149 people have died since it started raining. on April 29.
A cat was among nine felines that were rescued from a flooded residence on Monday in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
A Rottweiler that had been left with the cats in the house was also rescued alive from the flood waters.
“We had to catch him from below, in the belly, and save him as best we could,” de Oliveira said. ‘We’re ok. At least no animals died.
The pets along with Machado and his family are currently in De Oliveira’s home.
According to figures released Wednesday by the Civil Defense of Rio Grande do Sul, 149 people have died and 108 are missing since it started raining on April 29.
Heavy rains have displaced at least 540,000 residents from their homes in 446 cities.
Geovane de Oliveira recalled how difficult it was to keep his balance while making three trips to his friend’s flooded house to remove nine cats from a kennel.
Geovane de Oliveira, a 31-year-old motorcycle courier, rushed to his friend’s flooded house and helped remove nine cats and then rescued a dog that was found swimming near the house.
At least 76,000 people remain in shelters in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul due to flooding that has forced them from their homes.
A mare was rescued from an apartment building in the municipality of São Leopoldo, where she spent 10 days trapped due to a flood
Some 76,000 people are staying in gyms, schools and churches converted into shelters.
The agency reported that the water level of Lake Guaíba began to decrease during the early hours of Wednesday, going from 17 feet at 8:15 a.m. local time.
At least 11,000 animals have been rescued from the devastating floods.
On Tuesday, the Firefighters rescued a mare. who was trapped inside the third floor of an apartment in a flooded neighborhood in the town of São Leopaldo.
The animal, which had been trapped in the apartment for 10 days, was lifted and removed after seven hours via a makeshift lifting rope.
Vice Mayor Marcelo Santos traveled from the city of Santo Antônio da Patrulha, in Rio Grande do Sul, which was spared from the storm, to the municipality of Canoas to assist in recovery efforts and used a jet ski to rescue a horse that He drowned on May 6.