Torrential rain that hit Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night and continued through Sunday has killed at least seven people in the Brazilian city, blocked access roads to the city and brought buses and subways to a standstill. Two people have gone missing: one in Belford Roxo, in the capital region, and a child in Niteroi, under circumstances that are still unclear.
Seven victims drowned, one of them, a woman, in her own house in the Akari area, either died from electric shock due to falling high-voltage wires, or was buried by landslides on the slopes above the houses where they were located. The region most affected by the incessant rains is the northern zone, and this afternoon the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, through the media, asked residents to leave the area if they believe they are not at risk from this escape , and also asked Rio de Janeiro residents from other regions to avoid this area.
Avenida Brasília, the main expressway connecting Rio de Janeiro with other cities and other states, namely São Paulo, was completely closed from early morning until around 11am this Sunday local time, 2pm in Lisbon , due to complete flooding. Since then, some runways have come into use, but the situation when departing or arriving in Rio remains chaotic.
Several city and suburban bus routes were disrupted because vehicles, even taller than passenger cars, were unable to cope with the height of the water on the streets. The metro also stopped for several hours, in some cases due to flooded roads, in others due to the inability to reach stations, which were also flooded with rainwater.
The basement of Ronaldo Gasol’s hospital was completely flooded and there was no electricity for several hours, while the rain was so heavy and started so suddenly that even the traffic police and fire brigade barracks were flooded, making it even more difficult to help the victims. The weather forecast predicts that in Rio de Janeiro, as indeed virtually all of Brazil, rain will continue over the next few hours, alternating between moments of moderate rain and periods of storms.
Author: Domingos Grilo Serrinha This correspondent in Brazil
Source: CM Jornal
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