The governor of Bahia, Rui Costa (PT), declared this Sunday (26), in an interview with CNN, that 58 cities are totally or partially submerged after the heavy rains that hit the state.
“We’ve already had very severe tragedies, which took people’s lives, but located in one or two cities. We are talking about 58 cities that were partially or fully submerged, with entire rural and urban communities underwater. It goes from the southern region, in the Jequiriçá Valley, to the Jequié region. Today, four cities in the west of Bahia have also had many houses and communities flooded,” said Rui Costa.
“It is a tragedy that has never been seen because of its scope and dimension. Whether by the number of houses, the number of cities or the territorial extension. To give you an idea, we closed the day operating with nine helicopters”, he continued.
In a decree signed this Sunday afternoon, the governor placed another 47 cities in an emergency situation, rising to a total of 72 municipalities.
The following municipalities are now part of the emergency situation: Anagé, Angical, Arataca, Aurelino Leal, Barra do Choça, Belo Campo, Brejolândia, Caatiba, Caetanos, Camacan, Canavieiras, Coaraci, Cotegipe, Dário Meira, Firmino Alves, Floresta Azul , Gandu, Governador Mangabeira, Ibicaraí, Ibipeba, Igrapiúna, Iguaí, Ipiaú, Itabuna, Itaju do Colônia, Itapé, Itapetinga, Itapitanga, Itaquara, Itororó, Jequié, Jussiape, Lafaiete Coutinho, Manoel Souza, Brazil Poções, Santanópolis, Santa Inês, Sapeaçu, Ubaíra, Ubatã, Uruçuca, Valença, Vitória da Conquista and Wanderley.
Another 25 cities were already in emergency: Alcobaça, Belmonte, Caravelas, Eunápolis, Encruzilhada, Guaratinga, Ibicuí, Ibirapuã, Ilhéus, Itabela, Itagimirim, Itamaraju, Itanhém, Itapebi, Jucuruçu, Lajedão, Macarani, Medeiros Neto, Mucuri, Porto Seguro, Prado, Santa Cruz Cabrália, Teixeira de Freitas and Vereda.
The Military Fire Department of Bahia has confirmed, so far, 18 deaths caused by the effects of the rains. According to the State’s Civil Defense, based on data passed on by the municipalities and added by the Bahia Civil Defense and Protection Superintendence (Sudec), 16,001 are homeless, 19,580 displaced and two missing.
Reference: CNN Brasil
