Brazil’s Pernambuco province, famous for its almost 120 miles of beautiful beaches, is also known for its pounding rains that are currently causing havoc in the region.
Severe flooding in the state of Pernambuco over the past few days has caused 51 cities to declare a state of emergency, and 18 cities are in a state of calamity, according to the Brazilian civil defense Bulletin as of Monday evening. Overall, 222,400 people are affected.
About 15,000 families are homeless and two people have died so far in the floods and more than 20 landslides.
The end of the bridge that connects the state of Pernambuco with Alagoas has been destroyed, and rains have washed away many hillside barriers, causing landslides along the PE-103 highway. In several sections of the road, traffic was down to one lane as rains created craters in the middle of the highway.
The heavy accumulation of water also ruptured the bridge that connects the cities of Catende and Palmares. The bridge is located in the Engenho Rochedo and is used mainly for sugar transport.
Heavy rains are not unusual here. The northeast region is characterized by a short rainy season, which often punishes the coast this time of year.
João da Costa, the mayor of the state’s capital of Recife, a city of 4.1 million people, announced that will make an increase in drainage and monitoring of the hills to avoid landslides.
According to the Diario de Pernambuco, Costa said emergency measures would remain in place until the end of the rainy season in August.
The mayor stressed that the priorities will be the city’s hills and saving the lives of families living in areas most at risk.
Last Wednesday afternoon, 510 families were evacuated in less than three hours after forecasters predicted more heavy rains.
Costa said the city will return displaced families to their homes where possible and families who have lost their homes will be entered into a housing program. The mayor added that they are looking into hiring extra people to work on the operation.
The Research Center for Meteorology and Climate Studies says heavy rains will hit the coast of Ceará, east of Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco, and Paraíba, over the next few days.
Long-term forecasts using mathematical models are predicting heavy rain over the next 15 days mainly in the northern region due to the intertropical convergence zone, a temporary phenomenon causing heavy rains at this time of year.
Last June, flooding in the sates of Pernambuco and Alagoas, also in the northeast, killed more than 40 people and left over 115,000 homeless.
