The number of people killed by the heavy rains that hit Bahia, according to the state Civil Defense. The most affected regions are in the southern state, where about 3,740 people are displaced and there are more than 70,000 affected, according to the region’s Fire Department.
Last week’s storms have overflowed rivers, houses have been flooded, and with roads and bridges destroyed, some cities are isolated and incommunicado. The governor of Bahia, Rui Costa (PT), declared an emergency situation in at least 30 municipalities due to the storm. The federal government recognized so far the state of emergency in 24 municipalities in Bahia.
According to the Fire Department, the affected municipalities in the extreme south are: Eunápolis, Guaratinga, Itabela, Itamaraju, Itanhém, Jucuruçú, Medeiros Neto, Mucuri, Prado, Porto Seguro, Santa Cruz Cabrália, Teixeira de Freitas and Vereda. In the south of the state, the cities of Mascote, Itacaré, Itabuna, Ilhéus, Canavieiras, Camacan and Belmonte were affected.
Although the rain has decreased significantly and in many places the waters are decreasing, the task force mobilized by the state government to assist the population in the extreme south with teams from the Military Fire Department of Bahia, Air Group of the Military Police and Civil Defense of the state continue to act.
More than 1,500 food baskets, in addition to clothing, water and items for personal use have already been distributed by groups of military firefighters in the cities of Porto Seguro and Eunápolis. Donations were collected by the population and delivered with the help of agents.
Recovery
As of today, the government of Bahia begins planning for the recovery of the affected cities. “We are going to start recovering and rebuilding many homes that were lost. Let’s start this reconstruction in a better place, higher, out of reach of river waters. This Monday, we are going to have a big meeting with the secretariats and mayors to decide on new actions”, said Governor Rui Costa.
Yesterday (12), the President Jair Bolsonaro flew over the affected regions accompanied by the Ministers of Citizenship, João Roma; of Regional Development, Rogério Marinho; the Institutional Security Office, General Augusto Heleno; and from Health, Marcelo Queiroga.
In all, the Ministry of Regional Development (MDR) announced the release of R$5.8 million for the municipalities of Eunápolis, Itamaraju, Jucuruçu, Ibicuí, Ruy Barbosa, Maragogipe and Itaberaba.
The federal government also authorized the use of army troops to rescue and relocate people displaced by floods and floods. An Ordinance of the Ministry of Regional Development, with the release of R$ 1.2 million for use in emergency actions in Eunápolis is already published in today’s issue of Official Diary of the Union (DOU).
According to the MDR, the expectation is that the other releases will come out even today as an extra edition of the DOU.
