Rocky area should be avoided in rainy season, says lieutenant after accident in MG

Visits to rocky areas should be avoided during rainy times, said Lieutenant Pedro Aihara, spokesman for the Fire Department of MG in an interview with CNN this Saturday (8).

The lieutenant’s alert comes hours after the slide of a large block of stone near boats in the Furnas Lake region, in Capitólio, Minas Gerais. So far, the incident has left at least five people dead and another 32 injured, according to Aihara. There are still about 20 missing.

“The guidance that already exists is that, at a time of heavy rains like the current one, or a scenario of very saturated soil in geological risk areas, people keep a safe distance from these rocky regions,” he said. “This situation can be reassessed, but, due to the characteristics of the region, there may be new landslides”.

“Over the next few days, we still need to assess the situation of the rock at the site, whether there are new cracks,” he said.

A video circulating on social networks, whose veracity was confirmed by firefighters, shows the moment when a large block of stones collapses into the water, where it is possible to see three boats, two of which were close to the collapse (see above).

The lieutenant also said that the way the block of stones fell is atypical. “The way it slides is not usually forward, it’s like a slice of a piece of pie slipping naturally. But that structure fell like a domino. The upper part that falls in a perpendicular trajectory intensified the damage that the vessels suffered”, he said.

At 10:22 am this Saturday, the Civil Defense of Minas Gerais made a post on Twitter warning of the danger of “water heads” in the region and asking the public to avoid waterfalls during the rainy season.

Intense rainfall in the region with the possibility of the occurrence of Cabeça D’água in the municipalities of Capitólio, São João Batista do Glória and São José da Barra. Avoid waterfalls in the rainy season. In emergencies call 199 or 193.@radioitatiaia@g1mg@em_com@otempo@journalhojeemdia pic.twitter.com/46BMewLTEH

— Civil Defense MG (@defesacivil_mg) January 8, 2022