The Superintendence of Civil Defense and Protection of Bahia (Sudec) confirmed, this Saturday (19), two more deaths as a result of the heavy rains that have hit the south of the state since the beginning of November.
According to the state agency, at least 14 people died and 276 were injured due to hydrological events (floods, floods, floods and landslides) that have already affected at least 299,360 people.
Based on information provided by city halls in Bahia, Sudec calculates that, until yesterday, 15,483 people had been displaced, families who had to leave their homes temporarily and stay with relatives, friends or hotels, and 4,453 homeless, having to be sheltered in public shelters or improvised places.
Among the cities most affected are Itamaraju and Jucuruçu, in the extreme south of the state. Distant about 100 kilometers from each other, the two municipalities are still counting the damage caused by the waters. In Jucuruçu alone, more than 500 families were displaced. Houses and bridges were dragged and health teams had to transfer the care to the population to a temporary location after the building of the Municipal Health Department was totally damaged.
Also on the 12th, the city hall apologized to the population for not being able to assist everyone who needed help. “Our beloved Jucuruçu was taken by surprise, in the middle of the night, with a flood that left several families homeless. The waters of the heavy rains destroyed dreams, our commerce, houses and material goods”, lamented the city hall, on social networks.
The road infrastructure suffered severely in the region. Throughout the week, even Army vehicles struggled to reach some points where they distributed donations to affected families. The Force informed that it mobilized more than 400 military personnel, two aircraft (HM-4 Jaguar and HM-1 Pantera), 30 vehicles, five vessels, an excavator and a loader to support the Civil Defense and Social Assistance agencies to assist in the recovery of the stays.
According to Sudec, some of the displaced and homeless people have started to return to their homes in recent days, thanks to the lower intensity of the rains. Despite this, the National Civil Defense issued an alert notifying the possibility of heavy rains returning to hit areas already affected as of today (20), extending until next Saturday (25). Although the volume of these rains should not match that of recent weeks, public authorities recommend caution and attention from the population.
This morning, the Minister of Citizenship, João Roma, flies over some of the areas affected by hydrological events. The forecast is that he will visit the cities of Itamaraju, Teixeira de Freitas, Medeiros Neto, Jucuruçu, Eunápolis and Porto Seguro, where he should give an interview about the actions of the federal government.
