Showers on the way to historical records – General

The year 2020 is on the way to becoming the second rainiest in the history of Belo Horizonte, surpassing 1985 in the next few days or even in 24 hours. And there is still the expectation that it will become the rainiest of the entire historical series, which began in 1911, until the end of the month. The forecast of the National Meteorological Institute (Inmet). Rainfall in the capital of Minas Gerais and in the rest of the state is similar to that of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (ZCAS), which transports moisture from the Amazon to southeastern Brazil. According to meteorologist Clber Souza, this system works for several consecutive days.

Since the beginning of the week, the Civil Defense of BH has been publishing rain alerts to the capital. The latter, carried out yesterday morning, showed that the expected volume varies between 30 and 50 millimeters. Rain can be accompanied by gusts of wind. Due to the volume of water that saturates the ground, there is also a warning of the risk of landslides in the capital in force until Monday.

According to Clber Souza, the capital has already reached 42.4% of the expected rain volume for December (the average is 358.9 mm). According to information from Inmet, the rainiest year in the history of Belo Horizonte was 1983, with 2,509.8 millimeters of rain from January to December, followed by 1985, when it rained 2,266.3 millimeters in 12 months. The historical series begins in 1911.

According to the meteorologist Clber Souza, from January to 9 am yesterday, the accumulated precipitation in the capital was 2,211.4 millimeters. If the rain continues to be intermittent for the next 24 hours, there is a possibility that Belo Horizonte will reach or exceed the 1985 volume, making 2020 the second rainiest year until tomorrow. “As we still have 21 days, we can have the rainiest year of the entire historical series in the next few days,” said the meteorologist.

With the possibility of record rain, several families in the city are experiencing a dramatic situation due to the floods. This is the case of Jos Camilo da Silva Morais, 70, who lives near Avenida Tereza Cristina, in Contagem, a point of intense flooding in recent decades. “When it rains, the water always enters the houses and leaves a mark. I never lost anything with the rains, but the people who live nearby were left with nothing, “says the retiree. “This problem has been going on for many years. Every year this. Residents are left with nothing. During the rainy season, people have to leave so as not to lose their belongings. The water always invades the bus stop and causes chaos for everyone ”, he adds.

A resident of the place for seven years, the autonomous Víctor Manoel says that last year’s rain was one of the most terrible he has ever witnessed: “Every year floods, with the loss of many things. I have already lost a refrigerator, a freezer and many goods. We still have to fix it closely, because there is a stream that floods a lot ”.

INSIDE

The action of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone leaves a state-wide rainy climate with cloudy skies and can bring volume of rain to the entire state. According to Clber Souza, it can rain a lot in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte, Central and Zona da Mata. The expectation that tomorrow the system will begin to lose, decreasing the rains in the North and East regions, but in the Center, South and in the Mining Triangle, the possibility of rain will continue to exist.

tree falls into tents
fair and reaches four people

A tree fell yesterday afternoon, injuring four people at a food fair in Belo Horizonte. According to the Fire Department, one of the victims had dislocations and abrasions, and even suffered a small cut to his head. The fall occurred on Avenida Caranda, on the corner of Rua Cear, in Bairro Funcionrios, capital of Regio Centro-Sul, scaring merchants and residents.

“Two people in the tents and two customers were injured. We thought one of them had died, but he was breathing and thanking God. It was a surprise because we thought the tree was good ”, said the grocer Denis Cardoso dos Santos Oliveira, a grocer there for more than 26 years.

According to firefighters, the victims were taken by relatives to health units. One of them was carried out by the Mobile Emergency Service (Samu). Firefighters pruned and cleared the road, which had to be closed.

This month alone, the Fire Department received 211 calls for tree-related events in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte. In the first 10 days, 94 calls for inspections were made, 65 for trees registered on public roads, 37 for felling trees with imminent risk of falling, and 15 for trees registered on property. The rains intensify this type of occurrence.

According to the corporation, there are the following situations in which its equipment must be activated by 193: when the tree offers danger of falling and reaching people, animals, houses or vehicles and when it is already there and generates risk to people and traffic disorders .

According to the city council of the capital, almost 4 thousand trees have already been suppressed in BH this year because they offer risk. The Superintendency of Capitalization Development (Sudecap) reported that tree pruning and removal requests are carefully evaluated by regional maintenance managers so that the service can be performed properly.

According to Sudecap, 12,876 prunings and 3,771 deletions have already been carried out. The superintendency explained that priority is given to the pruning and removal of condemned trees or that may represent risks of causing human or material damage and “that already have reports that indicate the suppression, with an imminent risk of falling”, reported the office of town hall press.

In 2019, more than 37,000 prunings and 10,500 deletions were carried out. In 2018, 47,870 tree prunings and 10,122 deletions were carried out. In 2017, there were 16,445 prunings and 3,041 removals.

Falling trees is one of the risks during the rainy season in Belo Horizonte, causing accidents, sometimes fatal. On December 6, 2018, for example, the driver of a school van died when a tree fell on the vehicle, which was transporting five children, on Avenida Nossa Senhora do Carmo, in the Central-South region of the capital. The children were not injured.

Danger

Total calls received this month by the Fire Department

linked to occurrences with trees