Residents of the southwest region of the state of Minas Gerais received an alert this Sunday night (9) to leave their homes due to the high risk of a dam failure at Usina do Carioca.
The alert was made on social networks by the city of Pará de Minas around 20h.
The message says that the evacuation must be carried out by all families below the plant, both in the city itself and in neighboring municipalities: Pitangui, Onça de Pitangui, São João de Cima, Casquilho de Baixo, Casquilho de Cima and Conceição do For.
Around 8:30 pm, the city hall informed that it had set up a support point in the city to receive families who had to leave their homes.
“The objective is to receive the families of residents living in the vicinity of the dam who have nowhere to go,” says the publication.
Authorities’ actions
The mayor of Pará de Minas, Elias Diniz, said in an Instagram video that the Usina de Carioca region is mobilized with the military police team and firefighters to search for people whose homes are in risky situations.
Diniz asks for the understanding of people who are close to risky regions. “Go to higher places, in the homes of relatives or people who can help us. Let them come here to the shelter we are offering”, he warned.
The mayor also said that it is still not possible to know “how the situation is involving Britos and even involving the Benfica Dam, in Itaúna. The domino effect can occur. Several parts are flooded.”
(In update)
Reference: CNN Brasil
