Gisele Bündchen Makes Emotional Plea for Aid After Home State in Brazil Suffers Devastating Flooding

Ingrid Vasquez
·3 min read

"Let’s all join together to help the thousands of people who need us. No amount is too small. Together we can make a difference," the model said

<p>Remy Steiner/Getty</p> Gisele Bündchen

Remy Steiner/Getty

Gisele Bündchen

Gisele Bündchen is aiming to make a difference in her home state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, after days of devastating flooding.

The supermodel, 43, made an emotional plea to her fans on Wednesday, May 8, asking her followers to consider donating to the Luz Alliance Fund, an initiative she created in partnership with the Brazil Foundation to provide humanitarian pandemic relief to families in Brazil.

In an Instagram Reel containing photos and video of the damage in southern Brazil, Bündchen referred to the flooding as "the worst tragedy in its history."

<p>NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP via Getty</p> Aerial view of the flooding in Brazil

NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP via Getty

Aerial view of the flooding in Brazil

Related: Gisele Bündchen Shares the ‘Long Journey’ to Overcoming ’Severe Depression and Panic Attacks’

"Heavy rains flooded entire towns in most parts of the state. It's not one or two cities; it's more than 350 cities affected. People are not only losing their houses [and] their jobs. They're losing everything. And there are many still to be rescued. Nobody was ready for such devastation," she explained.

"Towns are isolated. Roads and bridges were destroyed. People have no electricity. No clean water to drink. Many have been separated from their loved ones," Bündchen continued. "And the saddest is that many lives were lost. it's painful. It's heartbreaking."

Bündchen ended her video by asking her followers to join her in making donations and helping "in any way that you can."

<p>Gisele Bündchen/Instagram</p> Gisele's Instagram message

Gisele Bündchen/Instagram

Gisele's Instagram message

Related: Gisele Bündchen Honors Her Mom on Instagram on the 1-Month Anniversary of Her Death: 'Te Amo'

"Let’s all join together to help the thousands of people who need us. No amount is too small. Together we can make a difference," she added in a written message at the end of the clip.

Bündchen shared in a post on Saturday, May 4, that people near the area can also help by donating "mattresses and pillows, all types of bedding, toiletries, cleaning products, all types of clothing for all ages, furniture, appliances, pet food, and general daily living items."

In an update on Wednesday, the Rio Grande do Sul state civil defense force announced that there have been 100 confirmed deaths since the flooding began.

Per the agency, 66,761 individuals are in shelters, 163,720 are homeless, 372 are injured, and 128 remain missing.

<p>NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP via Getty </p> Photo of rescuers sailing by boat in Rio Grande do Sul

NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP via Getty

Photo of rescuers sailing by boat in Rio Grande do Sul

Earlier this week, a source told PEOPLE that part of the reason that Bündchen would be skipping this year's Met Gala was because of the devastation in Brazil.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"She's busy with her family down in Miami. She has a totally full life, and she's very busy with her kids. Plus, she's been working more than she has in 20 years this past year. She has so many projects; she's been working all the time," the source said.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • 3 dead, 5 injured in evening boat crash north of Kingston

    Three people are dead and five others injured in what police are calling a "horrible" collision involving two boats on a lake north of Kingston, Ont. Ontario Provincial Police say the crash happened in the Buck Bay area of Bobs Lake after 9:30 p.m. on Saturday. It involved "an open bow fishing-style boat" and a speedboat, they said.Emergency crews from surrounding regions, along with the 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron out of CFB Trenton, responded to the call around 9:45 p.m.OPP said two of t

  • They’ve been stuck for 7 weeks on the ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge. This is what life is like for the Dali crew

    It could be weeks or even months before crew members can leave, due to complications beyond their control. Here’s why they’re still confined – and how they’re coping

  • Tourists disembark boat after fatal collision on the Danube River in Hungary

    Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary. Police said they determined that a river cruise boat had been in the area at the time of the accident. They stopped a cruise boat with a damaged hull near the town of Komarom, more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) further upriver.

  • Arizona man sentenced to natural life in prison for the 2017 death of his wife, who was buried alive

    An Arizona man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2017 death of his wife, who was buried alive in a hand-dug grave near their home, authorities said. Seven years after the murder, David Pagniano decided to plead guilty before his trial was scheduled to start and allowed a judge to determine his sentence without a plea agreement. Pagniano, 62, also was sentenced on May 9 to a 16 ½-year prison term for kidnapping, forgery and fraud, according to the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office.

  • Toothpaste tube helps narrow investigation into remains found near Sask. campsite

    MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Investigators in Saskatchewan have released photos of items found near a campsite along with human remains of a person who they believe died a decade ago. RCMP say they're hoping someone will recognize the items and can help figure out the person's identity. Police say in a news release they began an investigation April 28 into human remains located at a makeshift campsite in a deeply forested area in the Rural Municipality of Moose Jaw. The release didn't specify whether it w

  • 17-year-old girl sex trafficked from Mexico to US is rescued after texting 911 for help

    A 17-year-old girl, a trafficking victim, was rescued by the Ventura County Sheriff's Office in California after texting 911, authorities said.

  • Mansfield nursery worker smeared leftovers in toddler's face

    Helen Walker, 49, was caught on CCTV immediately trying to cover up what she had done, police said.

  • An Hours-Long Home Invasion, a Triple Murder, and a Father Who Survived: Inside the Petit Family Murders

    In the early morning hours of July 23, two men broke into the Petits' Cheshire, Conn., home, held them family hostage for hours and assaulted them

  • Sentencing trial set to begin for Florida man who executed 5 women at a bank in 2019

    Zephen Xaver walked into a central Florida bank in 2019, fatally shot five women and then called police to tell them what he did. Xaver pleaded guilty last year to five counts of first-degree murder for the Jan. 23, 2019, massacre at the SunTrust Bank in Sebring, about 84 miles (135 kilometers) southeast of Tampa. Michael Cook said he hopes his wife's killer gets the death penalty and described being very frustrated by the years of delays.

  • "He Had Killed His Own Son, Niece, And Brother Later That Day" And 26 More Terrifying Stories About People Who Encountered Or Knew Killers

    "I look up and make eye contact and he had more blood splattered on his face, and a huge grin."

  • Republicans who showed up at Trump’s NYC trial were way out of their lane | Opinion

    A shameful attempt by Speaker Johnson and others in NYC to tip the scales of justice | Letters

  • ‘We’ll See You at Your House:’ How Fear and Menace Are Transforming Politics

    One Friday last month, Jamie Raskin, a Democratic member of Congress from Maryland, spent a chunk of his day in court securing a protective order. It was not his first. Raskin, who played a leading role in Donald Trump’s second impeachment hearing, said he received about 50 menacing calls, emails and letters every month that are turned over to the Capitol Police. His latest court visit was prompted by a man who showed up at his house and screamed in his face about the COVID-19 vaccine, Trump’s i

  • Israeli army finds bodies of 3 hostages in Gaza killed at Oct. 7 music festival

    JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said Friday its troops in Gaza found the bodies of three Israeli hostages killed by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack, including German-Israeli Shani Louk. A photo of 22-year-old Louk's twisted body in the back of a pickup truck ricocheted around the world and brought to light the scale of the militants’ attack on communities in southern Israel. The military identified the other two bodies as those of a 28-year-old woman, Amit Buskila, and a 56-year-old man, It

  • ‘How do you get hypothermia in a prison?’ Records show hospitalizations among Virginia inmates

    RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Virginia State Police investigator seemed puzzled about what the inmate was describing: “unbearable” conditions at a prison so cold that toilet water would freeze over and inmates were repeatedly treated for hypothermia. “How do you get hypothermia in a prison?” the investigator asked. “You shouldn’t.” The exchange, captured on video obtained by The Associated Press, took place during an investigation into the death of Charles Givens, a developmentally disabled inmate at

  • Overnight fires may be linked to Toronto tow truck wars

    Two fires in Scarborough are under investigation and could be linked to ongoing turf wars in the GTA towing industry. As Sean O’Shea reports, they’re just the latest in a growing number of suspicious fires.

  • SIU investigating woman's death after arrest in Barrie

    Ontario's police watchdog is investigating after a 28-year-old woman died in hospital Saturday morning after she was arrested in Barrie. Barrie police arrested the woman on Thursday near 49 Colter Street for outstanding warrants, the province's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said in a news release Saturday. She was taken to the station and held in a cell.On Friday, Ontario police transported the woman from the Barrie police station to Central North Correctional Centre, the SIU said. The woman

  • 'Temper justice with mercy' Gov. Shapiro ask Turks and Caicos to send US residents home

    Bryan Hagerich went on a family vacation to Turks and Caicos. He was detained and faces 12 prison years at sentencing at end of May.

  • Andrei Donet found guilty of 2nd-degree murder of Jannai Dopwell-Bailey

    A jury found Andrei Donet guilty of the second-degree murder of 16-year-old Jannai Dopwell-Bailey. Donet was 18 when he was arrested in connection with the case in 2021. The second-degree murder conviction comes with an automatic life sentence in prison with no possibility of parole before 10 years.Dopwell-Bailey was fatally stabbed outside a high school in Montreal's Côte-des-Neiges district in 2021. Crown prosecutor Katerine Brabant said Donet's distinctive tattoos seen in a video he published

  • Ontario's police watchdog investigating death of 28-year-old woman arrested in Barrie

    BARRIE, Ont. — Ontario's police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who passed out while officers were taking her to jail. The Special Investigations Unit says officers with the Barrie Police Service arrested the woman on Thursday night because she was wanted on outstanding warrants. The agency says the officers took the woman to a police station, where she was kept in a cell. The following day, the SIU says special constables with the Ontario Provincial Police were taking the woman f

  • Man dead after being found shot inside car in Brampton, police say

    A man has died after he was found shot in a residential area in Brampton Saturday morning, police say.Peel Regional Police said they were called to the scene of a shooting at Mississauga Road and Sandalwood Parkway shortly before 7:30 a.m.When officers arrived they found the victim inside a car parked in a driveway at one of the residences at Ivor Crescent, Const. Richard Chin said.The man was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries but later died, Chin said.Peel police's homici