Residents of Barra do Sahy, one of the neighborhoods of São Sebastião most affected by the storms on the north coast of São Paulo, began to leave their homes. A court decision, in response to a request from the state government and the city hall, authorized the removal of all people living in risk areas in the municipality. Barra do Sahy is one of the areas that was isolated due to damage caused by landslides and floods on the Rio-Santos Highway, which was partially unblocked yesterday. However, on the stretch close to Juquehy, it is still not possible to travel and at several points the road has been eroded and only has passage in one of the directions, causing traffic jams. “We didn’t expect it” This morning (22), the maid Maria Eliana Araújo was one of those who was leaving Barra do Sahy. She says that her house was not directly affected by the landslides. However, the site was classified as a risk area. “We don’t know if we’ll be able to come back. People are homeless. It didn’t fall, but we are homeless, ”she said. She is currently staying with relatives in a nearby community. The landslides and flooding killed 48 people in the region. “We did not expect. And without knowing what will happen, where we are going. We are lost ”, she said, as she walked through the mud-covered streets. Excavators and trucks removed the thick layer of mud and debris accumulated in the streets of the neighborhood. Families and merchants tried to remove dirt from inside houses and establishments. It was still possible to find cars and motorcycles partially buried in the mud. In the highest parts of the hill, bulldozers, volunteers and firefighters excavated the land in search of the victims of the landslide. Rescue Captain Mistuo, from the Fire Department, was trying to organize the volunteers who help in the search for approximately 40 missing people. According to him, the use of machines should intensify from now on. “We are doing the screening. Let’s do the land management and start with the machines to gain speed, ”he explains. Since Sunday morning (19), firefighters have been looking for buried victims. “The people of the Fire Department are always looking for life. As unlikely as it may be, we do not lose hope.” When talking to the volunteers, Mitsuo recognized that the first rescue efforts are the merit of the residents of the region. People like Wagner de Oliveira, who today was not participating in the work, but who, shortly after the landslide, managed to rescue neighbors and friends. “When we started helping, there were no firefighters, there was no one. The real help came from the community. The community’s own people were transferring the bodies to [sede da ONG] Verde Escola”, says the boy, who is now working at the family grocery store close to the area where the rescue was carried out. “I rescued three injured people and four deaths. When the fourth death arrived, I no longer had the courage to move on. I took a shower and stayed put [resguardado]”, he reports, moved, remembering the shock of seeing the chaos caused by the flood of mud that descended from the hills that are at the back of the community.
Agência Brasil
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