A crisis office has been operating since 8 am, this Friday (18), in São Paulo, to guarantee a prompt response to the population in the event of an emergency caused by the heavy rains and winds that are being expected in several regions of the state. The cabinet brings together members of Civil Defense and areas such as health, the Fire Department and the Traffic Engineering Company (CET).
According to the state government, Civil Defense teams will also be inside the operations center of electricity concessionaires – including Enel – to monitor the contingency plan that these companies have put together to face emergency situations.
Enel Distribuição São Paulo informed that it will maintain its Emergency Service Plan, with reinforcement of teams in the field and the capacity of service channels. “The company will continue with the additional mobilization of teams, with around 2,400 field professionals on standby to respond to any incidents involving the supply of energy in the 24 municipalities in which the company operates,” he said in a statement.
The company also informed that it will reinforce its service channels, including the call centerprepared to double capacity if necessary. To meet critical cases, Enel made 500 generators available, 40 of which were large, for essential services, such as hospitals.
Weather forecast
A week after the last storm, Civil Defense issued a new alert for rain showers and gusts of wind between today and next Sunday (20) across the state. The alert, says the state agency, is due to the passage of a cold front that will bring gusts of wind that can reach 60 km/h, lightning and possible hailstorms in isolated spots, with risks of landslides, flooding and floods. Accumulated rainfall over the weekend could reach 200 millimeters in several regions of the state.
The entire Civil Defense staff, made up of around 5,400 municipal and state agents, will be on standby to monitor any problems caused by the forecast storm.
Care
Enel has published the following safety guidelines for the electricity grid in cases of storms:
• If you find a broken cable, do not approach it;
• Do not touch metallic objects, such as traffic lights, public lighting posts, bus stops, gates and railings;
• Remove equipment from the socket and leave it out of reach of water;
• Seek safe shelter: in case of intense winds, look for safe places, away from structures susceptible to damage, such as poles, trees or electrical wiring;
• Avoid wooded areas: during storms, there is a risk of falling trees and lightning.