Rains force over 113,000 people out of their homes in 8 Brazilian states

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The heavy rains that have hit Brazil in recent days have led to the evacuation of over 113,000 people from their homes in 8 Brazilian states. The number considers the sum of homeless and displaced people.

The concepts of homeless and displaced are different. The homeless have lost their homes and are in a public shelter. The displaced had to leave their home – not necessarily lost it – and are not in shelters, but in the house of a relative, friend or acquaintance.

Bahia is the most affected state, with over 87,000 people having been forced to abandon their homes. According to data from the Superintendence of Protection and Civil Defense (SUDEC), approximately 856,000 people have been affected, with occurrences in 183 municipalities.

Minas Gerais comes next, with some 17,000 people affected. Governor Romeu Zema said that the region looks like a “war zone.”

“As the ground is soaked, any more rain can cause landslides, the whole coverage of the state is saturated with water, the risk is imminent, it is real. We have had fatal victims. Travel only in case of extreme necessity, new landslides can occur at any moment in these regions with rain in the coming hours,” Zema explained.

In Rio de Janeiro, 3,400 people have abandoned their homes. The state is on red alert due to the risk of storms. In the capital alone, more than 70 properties have been interdicted due to structural risks. Emergency sirens were triggered in 11 communities to warn about the storms.

In Tocantins 1,780 people were forced out of their homes in the municipalities of Araguanã, Axixá do Tocantins, Dois Irmãos, Esperantina, Paranã, Rio dos Bois, Pedro Afonso, Tupirama, Tupiratins, Palmeirante, Bom Jesus, São Sebastião, São Miguel, Sampaio and Itaguatins.

In Espírito Santo, 1,690 people are affected by the rain, with the municipalities of Colatina and Linhares at very high hydrological risk.

In Pará there are 994 people, with 335 riverside families affected. The Tocantins River is 11.97 meters above its normal level. The residents were housed in shelters provided by the State government, the Marabá City Hall, and the Brazilian Army.

According to governor Helder Barbalho “this is the moment we should all focus on, since the calendar (of river flooding) is anticipated. Our alert is based on the daily monitoring with the City Hall, so that we may act in the best possible way at this very difficult moment.”

In Maranhão, the rains have led 842 people to abandon their homes. The Fire Department is assisting the population, distributing food baskets, medicines, and moving families and personnel. In addition, the teams are monitoring the weather conditions and river volumes.

In Piauí, the government is calling on the 452 people who left their homes to register for the Solidarity City Program, managed by the Superintendencies for Decentralized Administrative Actions (SAADS).

Due to the rains, 45 people have died in Brazil. In Bahia 26 people have died and 19 in Minas Gerais, 10 of whom in the last 24 hours.

The other 10 deaths recorded last Saturday, January 8, during the collapse of a rock in Capitólio are not included in the total.

So far, 329 municipalities have been affected or are in a situation of emergency:

• Bahia: 168 municipalities in an emergency situation
• Minas Gerais: 145 municipalities in an emergency situation
• Tocantins: 32 municipalities affected, with 4 in an emergency situation
• Maranhão: 7 municipalities in an emergency situation
• Rio de Janeiro: 4 municipalities in an emergency situation
• Pará: 1 municipality in an emergency situation.