RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Residents in the area around the Jati dam, in the interior of Ceará, were removed from their homes preventively on Saturday, August 22nd, due to the rupture of a pipeline, reported the Ministry of Regional Development. According to the portfolio, 2,000 people were evacuated and taken to shelters and relative’s homes. There is no record of anyone being injured.
The work where the leak occurred is part of the Northern Axis of the São Francisco River diversion, inaugurated in June 26th by President Bolsonaro. A video shows the moment of the rupture and the flight of people who were close to the dam.
According to the Ministry, the leak occurred on Friday, August 21st, and has already been contained, but a technical assessment of the structure was difficult during the night and dawn due to insufficient lighting.
The residents were taken to hotels, inns and lodgings in the region, says the portfolio. They were also allowed to stay with relatives. “We left because we were at risk, I didn’t feel safe staying there. We are lucky to have this here (shelter), otherwise we would be on the street. There was no time to get anything, only documents,” said 75-year-old pensioner José Cândido de Oliveira.
The portfolio says there is no risk of the dam rupturing.
The Ceará Fire Department commander, Col. Eduardo Holanda, said the situation is under control and that there is no imminent risk.
“At this time we can safely tell the population that the situation is under control and that there is no imminent risk. We will also assess the need to remove the community closer to the dam but only as a precautionary measure. There is no critical situation with regard to the structure’s safety,” said the colonel.
Civil Defense teams, the National Water Agency and officials from the Ministry of Regional Development are working on the site to restore the structure.
The Minister of Regional Development, Rogério Marinho, and the national secretary of Protection and Civil Defense, Col. Alexandre Lucas, visited the site yesterday morning to monitor the dam’s condition. Experts in dam safety and risk management are also part of the National Civil Defense team deployed at the site, according to the Ministry.
In addition to them, the governor of Ceará, Camilo Santana, also visited the site on Saturday to monitor the work.
Rupture
The rupture occurred one day after the Minister of Regional Development, Rogério Marinho, inaugurated the floodgate that releases water from the Jati dam to the Ceará Water Belt (CAC), a Ceará Government system that supplies other cities in Ceará, including the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza.
“What occurred was that the water outlet showed a leak, there was a rupture. This whole water jet is due to pressure. The concern is that this jet is being pushed on the dam’s shoulder and it’s having an erosive process, [but] which apparently doesn’t affect the dam,” said Francisco Teixeira, Ceará’s secretary of water resources.
After the rupture, there was a power outage at the site, and the authorities were forced to wait for the availability of a generator to trigger the floodgate control, the secretary said.
Source: G1