Vale do Ribeira Floods: the Army Is in Paraná and the Deaths Are in São Paulo
BRAZIL · WEATHER
Key Facts
- —The place The Vale do Ribeira, a poor river valley straddling the border of São Paulo and Paraná states.
- —The weather A cold front along the coast met an offshore cyclone. The river rose about nine metres.
- —On the Paraná side Almost 12,000 homes without power, roads cut, and the state governor calling in army engineers.
- —On the São Paulo side Families evacuated in two riverside towns, with highways progressively reopening.
- —The deaths Eight, all in Greater São Paulo, more than 200 kilometres from the valley.
- —The catch Six of those eight died when a building under construction collapsed, not in the water.
Two Brazilian states share a river valley and a rainstorm. Only one of them has the deaths, and it is not the one with the army.
The Vale do Ribeira is one of the poorest corners of southern Brazil, a valley of small river towns and steep forest. It is also cut in half by a state border.
That border is why Monday’s reporting went wrong. Almost every new development belongs to one side, and every confirmed death belongs somewhere else entirely.
What Happened on the Paraná Side
Paraná’s civil defence issued a bulletin at half past five on Monday morning. It counts 2,073 people out of their homes and 395 in public shelters.
Sixty municipalities are affected, with 14,675 people touched by the event and 67 separate incidents logged. The state utility reports 11,795 customers without electricity.
Cerro Azul alone accounts for 7,432 of them. Adrianópolis has 3,167, Doutor Ulysses 881 and Tunas do Paraná 315.
Supply had been restored to 1,186 properties since Sunday morning. Governor Carlos Massa Ratinho Junior spent Monday inspecting the affected towns.
He had asked for the army on Sunday. Army engineers are now working on the BR-476 federal highway, which is fully blocked at three points.
A state highway nearby has at least forty blockage points. Rural access roads around Cerro Azul are cut by landslides.
The Army Belongs to One State
A line travelling widely says the state government called in the army. The state in question is Paraná.
No source shows the São Paulo government requesting federal troops. Anyone reading this as a São Paulo deployment has the wrong side of the border.
The same applies to the power figure. Roughly 12,000 homes without electricity has circulated as a São Paulo number, and no São Paulo distributor has published anything like it.
The real figures are both from Paraná, one counting customers and one counting people. Two different units, one state.
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Where the Deaths Actually Are
Eight people died and one is missing, in Greater São Paulo. That is the metropolitan region around the city, not the valley.
Six of the eight died in the collapse of a building under construction in Penha, in the east of the city. Among the dead were three women, one of them pregnant, two men and a child.
That is a structural failure at a building site rather than a drowning or a landslide. A company representative was arrested on Sunday morning.
The other two died in Jandira in flash flooding, a woman found on Friday and a man on Sunday. One person is still missing there.
No deaths have been reported in Paraná at all. None of the eight occurred in the Vale do Ribeira on either side of the line.
The toll rose through Sunday as the Penha site was searched, from two in the morning to six by evening. No update has been issued for Monday.
What the São Paulo Side Looks Like
The Ribeira de Iguape river rose roughly nine metres. In the town of Eldorado, 54 families and 173 people were evacuated.
About 50 homes were affected in Sete Barras. Six of 29 state water monitoring stations were overflowing, with one at emergency level.
The SP-165 highway was hit at Eldorado by a barrier collapse. Several São Paulo roads were progressively reopened during Sunday, so describing them as closed today means naming which.
The Warning That Was Not Issued Today
Reports of a fresh storm alert for São Paulo on Monday could not be confirmed. What exists is an earlier forecast that happens to cover today.
São Paulo civil defence forecast heavy coastal rain for Sunday and Monday, up to 150 millimetres across the two days. It went out around 13 September.
Between midnight on Saturday and half past seven on Sunday, civil defence sent 21 text alerts and four broadcast alerts. The cause is a coastal cold front with instability from an offshore cyclone.
An existing forecast covering today is not a new warning issued today. In an emergency that distinction decides who evacuates.
More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Vale do Ribeira?
A river valley straddling the border between São Paulo and Paraná states in southern Brazil. It is one of the poorest regions in the south, which is why the two states’ emergencies get reported as one.
Who called in the army?
Paraná’s governor, Carlos Massa Ratinho Junior, on Sunday 13 September. Army engineers are clearing the BR-476 federal highway. No source shows São Paulo requesting troops.
How many people are without power?
11,795 customers on the Paraná side, on the state utility’s own count, with Cerro Azul accounting for 7,432. No equivalent São Paulo figure has been published.
How many people have died?
Eight confirmed and one missing, all in Greater São Paulo. Six died when a building under construction collapsed in Penha, and two in flash flooding in Jandira.
Was a new storm alert issued on Monday?
No new alert could be confirmed. São Paulo civil defence issued a coastal heavy-rain forecast around 13 September that covers Sunday and Monday.
Sources: Paraná civil defence bulletin of 14 September, Copel, Agência Brasil, Poder360, Brasil de Fato, Diário do Grande ABC and Tribuna do Vale.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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