Portugal is appalled by disaster announcement by rain in Brazil
“Portugal and all the Portuguese people are dismayed and in solidarity with those affected by this tragedy,” said Luís Faro Ramos, in a video posted on the page of the Portuguese embassy in Brazil on the social network Facebook.
“The Consulate of Portugal in Salvador [capital regional da Bahia], with the support of the Portuguese community in Bahia and in coordination with the Portuguese embassy in Brasília, immediately associated with the solidarity campaigns for the delivery on the ground of non-perishable food and hygiene kits in an initiative called ‘Solidarity Portugal` ” , added the representative of the Portuguese Government in Brazil.
The diplomat also recalls that the proximity between Portugal and Brazil is made up of many joys, but it also shows up in difficult times.
“We will continue to actively follow the evolution of events [na Bahia] which remind us of the global imperative to combat climate change, form manifestations that do not choose time or place, this time tarnishing the Christmas season of our Brazilian brothers and of Bahians in particular”, he concluded.
In all, 136 cities in the Brazilian state of Bahia declared a state of emergency due to heavy rains that have already evoked two dozen deaths, at least 91,000 displaced people and directly affected around 629,000 people.
According to local authorities, the death toll in the storms that affect the region rose from 21 to 24 on Wednesday night, and the number of injured increased from 358 people to 434 people.
Data compiled by the National Center for Monitoring and Alerting of Natural Disasters (Cemaden) that there has never been such heavy rain at this time of year in Bahia, with levels far above the December standards, which explains these as catastrophic floods.
The municipality of Itamaraju, in the south of Bahia, is the one that registered the highest rates of inclusion this December in Brazil, with 769.8 millimeters (mm) of rain. The brand is five times higher than the monthly average reduction of 148.0 mm.