Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo have alerts for heavy rains

The State Coordination of Civil Defense (Cedec) of Minas Gerais made an alert to the population about the precautions that need to be taken in most of the state until the beginning of next week because of the forecast of heavy rain. Cedec informed that the forecast from the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) indicates the possibility of rainfall above the average, mainly in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte and in the Zona da Mata for today (20) and tomorrow (21), and the forecast could extend until the 26th. In addition to Minas Gerais, the states of Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Bahia, Goiás and part of Mato Grosso and Tocantins can be affected by the storms. “We are experiencing a very intense rainy season. This Christmas week, we can reach 200 millimeters of rain in some parts of the state. It is a lot of rain”, commented the State coordinator of the Civil Defense of MG, Colonel Osvaldo de Souza Marques. The intense rain that has already hit Minas Gerais in the current rainy season has so far left 91 municipalities in a state of emergency, including São Domingos do Prata, Salto da Divisa and Santa Helena de Minas. According to the bulletin from the Minas Gerais State Civil Defense Coordination (Cedec) updated today, in the cities of Piraúba, Bom Jesus do Galho, Santa Luzia, Vespasiano, Bertópolis, Inhapim, Presidente Bernardes and Governador Valadares eight deaths were recorded, one in each municipality. In the period, the state accounts for 1,244 homeless and 4,434 displaced. The State Civil Defense reported that to help several municipalities in combating damage caused by rain, it distributed 497 kits, each worth R$ 163,400, containing a 4×4 vehicle, a notebook, a digital measuring tape and reflective vests. “We also help organize response actions and restore normality, distribute humanitarian aid material and send a response team to assist municipalities when necessary”, completed the agency in response to Agência Brasil. Espírito Santo The Civil Defense of Espírito Santo issued an alert for weather conditions in the state for this Tuesday and Wednesday and highlighted the warning from the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) reporting the risk of heavy rain for the entire state, at of danger. The alert is valid for today and tomorrow, until 10:30 am. In the same bulletin, the forecast of the Capixaba Institute of Research, Technical Assistance and Rural Extension (Incaper) of “attention level due to favorable meteorological conditions for the occurrence of significant accumulations of rain in the State”, which is valid until next Saturday (24). The highest rainfall accumulated in the last 24 hours among municipalities that have a meteorological station from the National Center for Monitoring and Natural Disaster Alerts (Cemaden) were recorded in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim (71.67 mm), followed by Presidente Kennedy (55 mm) and Ecoporanga (50.95 mm). São Mateus and Nova Venécia are at high risk of mass movement, which includes landslides. The state registers 1,274 evicted and 228 homeless. Most are in the municipality of São Mateus with 1,245 displaced and 194 homeless.

Agência Brasil