Rain and “hurricane” wind gusts leave more than 800,000 people without power in Rio Grande do Sul

After the intense rains and strong winds that hit Rio Grande do Sul, at least 815 thousand people are without power throughout the CEEE Equatorial concession area, the company reported this Thursday (21).

The most affected regions were the Metropolitan, with 312 thousand cases, followed by the South, with 183 thousand. In the South Center, there were 90 thousand people.

A CNN contacted Rio Grande Energia, from CPFL Energia, another energy concessionaire in the state, to find out about the damage and is awaiting a response.

According to CEE Equatorial, “since the early hours of the morning, the concessionaire's teams have been working in contingency to restore lines and carry out the necessary maintenance and works to restore energy supply as soon as possible to all customers”.

Hurricane winds

It rained heavily in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in the early hours of this Thursday (21). Three alerts are in effect in the state: rain and intense winds; flooding; occasionally strong rain and wind with electrical discharges and occasional hail.

Data from the National Institute of Meteorology indicate that, in the city of Soledade, in the north of Rio Grande do Sul, winds reached 142 km/h, a speed compatible with the gusts of a category 1 hurricane, according to the Saffir scale. Simpson.

Other municipalities also recorded wind gusts above 100 km/h, such as Cruz Alta (140 km/h), Jaguarão (125 km/h), Rio Grande (114 km/h), Pelotas (111 km/h) and São Borja (108 km/h).

Video: cold front passes through Iraí, on the border with Santa Catarina

Regarding the accumulated rainfall recorded in the last 24 hours, Jaguarão, a municipality in the south of Rio Grande do Sul, recorded 131.2 millimeters of rain.

Biggest wind gusts in RS recorded by Inmet

Soledade: 142 km/h
Cruz Alta: 140 km/h
Jaguarão: 125 km/h
Rio Grande: 114 km/h
Pelotas: 111 km/h
São Borja: 108 km/h
São Luiz Gonzaga: 91 km/h
Canguçu: 91 km/h
Santa Maria: 91 km/h
Porto Alegre (Botanical Garden): 90 km/h

Biggest rainfall in RS, according to Inmet

Jaguarão: 131.2 mm
Rio Grande: 65.4 mm
Santa Vitória do Palmar: 63.4 mm
Caçapava do Sul: 46 mm
Bagé: 41.2 mm
Dom Pedrito: 40.8 mm

According to the state Civil Defense, the teams received a lot of information about gales, heavy rains, roofless houses, fallen trees and some road blocks. A survey by the agency shows that two state highways were completely blocked. Another seven had partial blockages. Check out the full list, released at 9am this Thursday:

State highways:

With changes:

• ERS 130, KM 37/ Venâncio Aires – Total blockage, erosion of the runway.
• ERS 431, KM 22/ São Valentim do Sul – Total blockage, bridge gave way.

Partial blocking:

• ERS 420, KM 29/ Aratiba – Partial blockage, lane gave way.
• ERS 491, KM 05/ Marcelino Ramos – Partial blockage, DAER released in half lane.
• ERS 155, KM 73 to 78/ Santo Augusto – Partial blockage, tree over the road.
• ERS 431, KM 25/ São Valentim do Sul – Partial blockage, the track gave way due to erosion.
• ERS 734, KM 04/ Rio Grande – Partial blockage, downed power poles.
• ERS 241, KM 07/ São Francisco de Assis – Partial blockage, tree over the road.
• VRS 826, KM 11/ Alto Feliz – Partial blockage, asphalt erosion and barrier collapse.

PHOTOS – See images of the damage in Porto Alegre