'You can't lose everything again', says resident of Lajeado The flood of the Taquari River in Lajeado, Rio Grande do Sul, forced 540 people to leave their homes and seek refuge in the municipal shelter set up in Parque do Imigrante. On Wednesday (22), residents who remained in risk areas monitored the advance of the water, with the trauma of the great flood of 2024 still present in the city. The river level reached 24.76 meters in the early hours of this Thursday (23). The flood level is 19m. After hours of apprehension, the waters began to recede, reaching 23.71m at 9:30 am. ? Access the g1 RS channel on WhatsApp While some families left their homes, others decided to wait. In the city center, housewife Rose de Lima watched the water approaching. The downstairs neighbors had already left. "We already have things there, kind of prepared, right? If we need to, we'll leave, and if we don't need to, we'll stay. We're measuring centimeter by centimeter, because we can't make it easier, right? We can't, we've already lost everything once and we can't lose everything again", says Rose. 'You can't lose everything again', says resident of Lajeado Reproduction/RBS TV Throughout Wednesday, families were taken to the shelter. Throughout the day, trucks loaded with furniture and belongings arrived at the scene. In the pavilions, families organized their items in makeshift corners in an attempt to maintain privacy and rest safely. The shelter provides meals, clothes, mattresses, pillows and blankets. Attendant Ketlin Amanda Wadenphul and housewife Tatiana Streb de Souza, mother and daughter, woke up early to the sound of water and the movement of neighbors. They reported the difficulty of facing the situation again. "Ah, it's horrible, right? Because, whether we like it or not, we already have our place, we're comfortable there. It's a good place, but it's not our home, right. We feel bad about having to stay here and not being able to stay there", says Ketlin. Tatiana lamented the uncertainty about the conditions of the residence. "Ah, it's a feeling of sadness, right? We know that we left, it was in one way, we're going to come back and it's in another way, much more deplorable than what we were used to living with on a daily basis", says the housewife. Water invaded the streets in Lajeado Guilherme Millmann/Agência RBS VIDEOS: Everything about RS