The President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and his wife, Janja Silva, are still traveling today (8) to the city of Araraquara, in the interior of São Paulo. The region had some infrastructure damaged, such as streets and highways, by excessive rainfall.
According to the Presidency, Lula will monitor the civil defense works and will meet with the mayor of the city, Edinho Silva, from whom he will receive information about the situation in the municipality.
Authorities report that after 200mm of rain in just 24 hours. At the height of the storm, 83mm were recorded in just one hour of rain, which ended up opening a crater (on Avenida 36 in the city), killing six people from the same family.
Lula spoke about the trip through his account on twitter. “Good sunday. Today I’m going to Araraquara to examine the damage caused by heavy rains in the region. I will talk to Mayor @edinhosilva about the work of civil defense and the support they will need to rebuild part of the city’s infrastructure”, said the president.
Boarding for Araraquara will be at 2 pm from Congonhas Airport (SP), and arrival is scheduled for 3 pm. Lula will meet with Mayor Edinho Silva at 4 pm and return to Brasilia at 5 pm.
Emergency situation
This week, ministers Jader Filho, from Cities, and Waldez Góes, from National Integration and Regional Development, visited the region. The emergency situation was recognized by the National Secretariat for Protection and Civil Defense on the 6th, allowing the municipal administration to be more agile in adopting measures and avoiding bureaucracy for the release of resources.
Hit by heavy rains in the last week of 2022, Araraquara awaits the release of federal and state resources to start the more complex works to recover the infrastructure damaged by the force of the waters.
According to Araraquara City Hall, Mayor Edinho Silva met with representatives of the state government and other cities in São Paulo affected by the rain (Bertioga, Cajamar, Capivari, Monte Mor and Rafard). São Carlos, Guatapará and Socorro also suffered damage caused by excessive rain.
In a statement released by the city hall, the manager responsible for the Municipal Coordination of Protection and Civil Defense, Luiz Dell’Acqua, classified the strength of the waters this summer as “impressive”. He has been with the city for 13 years. “It is the worst scenario since I entered the Civil Defense, due to the deaths and also the damage that was caused”, he said.
Dell’Acqua adds that the municipality’s Civil Defense continues to monitor all points, with greater attention on Avenida Francisco Martins Caldeira Filho, in Parque São Paulo, so that the crater does not reach the residences located in the surroundings.
