THE daily bulletin from the Civil Defense of Minas Gerais points out that the state operates at a “dangerous situation” level this Saturday (31). The document warns of the occurrence of storms and gusts of wind.
“The action of a cyclone over the ocean influences the weather in Minas Gerais, favoring the formation of atmospheric instabilities”, points out the Civil Defense.
The forecast for the day is for storms in practically all regions of the state, accompanied by wind gusts of up to 70 kilometers per hour (km/h) and a chance of hail.
“Rain tends to intensify during the afternoon, in response to daytime warming and the increase in energy available in the atmosphere,” according to the bulletin.
The highest volumes of precipitation, around 40 millimeters, are expected in the Northwest of Minas, Central Mineira and the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte.
To get an idea of what this quantity means, it is necessary to compare that each millimeter of rain is equivalent to 1 liter of water per square meter of area in a location.
Therefore, 40 millimeters are 40 liters of rainwater in each square meter of a location in just one day.
Occurrence of adverse events
For Sunday, the bulletin predicts winds of 80 km/h and conditions favorable to the formation of hail.
“The continuation of this rainy pattern reinforces the state of attention to the occurrence of adverse events, especially in more susceptible areas.”
In recent days, the state has been experiencing impacts from rain. On Friday (30), the State Civil Defense recorded five incidents in five municipalities, but none of them resulted in deaths.
There are reports of falling walls, trees, floods, road closures and slope failures (sloping surface of earth or rock).
In Areado, in the south of the state, a house was damaged by the force of the flood, and the family had to be taken to social services for assistance.
At the beginning of the week, the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet), linked to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, had issued a alert for the cyclone to pass through the Southeast over the weekend.
Belo Horizonte
The Civil Defense of the capital of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, renewed this Saturday the warning for the occurrence of rain (30 mm to 50 mm) with lightning and gusts of wind around 50 km/h, until 8 am on Sunday (1st).
The statement joins an alert for “strong” geological risk, released on Friday (30) and valid until next Tuesday (3). The most susceptible regions are Pampulha and North.
There is also moderate geological risk in the Center-South, West, Northwest, Venda Nova, Northeast and Barreiro regions.
On Thursday (29), heavy rain flooded the capital’s streets and caused disruption.
Recommendations
The agency recommends paying attention to the degree of soil saturation, construction signs and care for falling walls, landslides and collapses.
Signs that landslides may happen:
- • Cracks in the walls
- • Water pooling in the yard
- • Doors and windows sticking
- • Cracks in the ground
- • Water undermining from the base of the ravine
- • Tilting of poles or trees
- • Stuffed walls and walls
- • Crackling
If you observe any of these signs, the advice is to leave the property immediately and call Civil Defense (199). In case of emergency, call the Military Fire Department (193).
Issuing alerts
Residents of Belo Horizonte can receive warnings about the risk of heavy rain, hail, storms, windstorms, flooding, risk of landslides and other meteorological phenomena via WhatsApp.
The population can also follow Civil Defense alerts and recommendations via cell phone message. To register, simply send a text message with your street zip code to the number 40199. The service is free of charge.
