Rio mayor urges people to avoid driving in heavy rain

The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, today (8) asked people to avoid walking around the city when it is raining heavily. The city was hit yesterday (7) by heavy rains, which caused deaths, flooding, falling trees and landslides. The forecast for today is for more storms. Two people died in the storm in the last few hours in the state of Rio: a man struck by lightning in the Lagos Region and a two-year-old child who was the victim of a landslide in the northern part of the capital. In the city of Rio, sirens sounded in 113 communities to warn of landslide risks. Several streets were flooded and important avenues were blocked last night. Upheavals “We should have more rain today. The city has returned to a certain stage of normality, but it is obvious that yesterday’s rain brought a lot of rubbish, causing pockets of water, flooding and clogging of galleries, so with today’s rain we could have problems again. Avoid displacements during heavy rains, stay tuned for information from the press and the Operations Center”, said Eduardo Paes, in a video published on social networks. The heavy rain invaded buildings such as the main campus of the State University of Rio de Janeiro (Uerj), in the north zone, and the Petrobras building on Rua do Senado, in the center of the city. On Rua dos Inválidos, a large house listed by the municipality was affected by a partial collapse of the neighboring property. It is part of the complex of the former Chora Vinagre tenement, listed by the Rio Heritage of Humanity Institute (IRPH). “There is an imminent risk of the property collapsing, the Civil Defense of the municipality is inspecting it and we will proceed with an urgent request for the partial demolition of the structure in order to safeguard the safety of people who live and transit in the place, and, from there, the property owners will be notified and held accountable so that they respond to public bodies appropriately,” said Alberto Szafran, deputy mayor of downtown Rio de Janeiro. The rains also damaged the water supply in 13 neighborhoods in the western zone of the city. The concessionaire Rio+Saneamento informed that the supply was reduced due to alterations in the quality of the water captured in the Guandu treatment plant. Colégio Pedro II, a federal unit, decided to suspend classes today in view of the forecast of new rains and also because some employees and students were trapped in school units throughout the night. * Article amended at 11:59 am to add information.

Agência Brasil