Natal, capital of Brazil’s Rio Grande de Norte state, declares state of disaster due to the rains

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Town Hall of Natal (RN) has declared a state of disaster due to the damage caused by the rains last weekend in various parts of the capital of Potiguar and part of the metropolitan region.

According to the Municipal Civil Defense, between Friday (1) and today (4), it rained the equivalent of 264 millimeters – enough to cause structural damage and affect residents of various locations in the metropolitan region of Natal. The rains also caused disruption and damage in Parnamirim, Ceará-Mirim, Extremoz, Macaíba and São Miguel do Gostoso.

According to the head of Civil Defense and Municipal Preventive Action, Fernanda Jucá, the number of displaced people – that is, people who had to leave their homes and stay with relatives, friends, or neighbors – is still being counted.

This Sunday (3), at least ten people had to be taken to one of the three schools prepared to receive the homeless. Despite being affected by the rains, 20 families from the Emanuel Bezerra camp and another 20 from the Palmares camp preferred not to go to shelters but were given mattresses and basic food to stay in the camps.

One of the most damaged areas of Natal was the Felipe Camarão neighborhood in the western zone of the city. There, the waters dug a crater and forced the interruption of vehicular traffic on a section of BR-226, blocking at least a dozen properties in the neighborhood.

Elsewhere in the city, lakes such as those of São Conrado, Panatis, da Esperança, Pajuçara, Xavantes, Pirangi, do Jacaré, Morro Branco, do Preá and Ponta Negra burst their banks. Ponta Negra, one of the state’s main postcard resorts, also experienced problems in a drainage network near the beach.

According to Fernanda, despite forecasts to the contrary, it stopped raining this morning, and the oceanic weather system that had favored the formation of heavy rains in recent days began to lose strength.

The decree of the City Council recognizing the state of disaster was signed by Mayor Alvaro Dias and published this morning in a special edition of the Municipal Gazette. In practice, the measure authorizes all municipal authorities to carry out actions to address the situation, including the necessary works to repair the affected infrastructure.

The decree exempts municipal authorities from the obligation to tender the required services and equipment publicly, provided that the works can be completed within a maximum of 180 consecutive and uninterrupted days, counting from the description of the disaster, and prohibits the extension of contracts.

The decree also allows the use of volunteers to reinforce disaster response and fundraising activities in the community. And if necessary, Civil Defense officials are authorized to enter private residences to provide assistance or order an immediate evacuation in case of danger.

On her Twitter account, Governor Fatima Bezerra said she had called the mayors of Natal, Parnamirim, Ceará-Mirim, Extremoz, Macaíba, and Sao Miguel do Gostoso to offer them the support of the state government. “In times like these, we must join forces, especially for the benefit of the most affected populations. We are on standby,” wrote the governor, guaranteeing that the State Civil Defense emergency teams are on high alert and collaborating with municipal authorities.