Winds reach 96 km/h in São Paulo and leave more than 1.5 million properties without electricity | Brazil

Fallen trees were reported on Rua Cincinato Braga, in Bela Vista, and near the Praça da Árvore metro station, in the south of the city. Some areas of Parque da Água Branca, west of SP, are closed due to falling trees.

According to the concessionaire Enel, 1.54 million homes were without electricity in the São Paulo metropolitan area, including 1.03 million in the capital of São Paulo, around noon. In total, 22% of Enel São Paulo customers were affected by the problem. This corresponds to 17% of the total customers in the region. The municipalities of Juquitiba, Vargem Grande and Pirapora do Bom Jesus, in the metropolitan region, have more than 50% of customers without electricity. according to the Enel panel.

According to the company, 1,300 teams are working to restore supply to affected residents.

Two outpatient clinics at São Paulo Hospital, in Vila Clementino, south of SP, are without electricity. According to the hospital, services are maintained, but with certain limits. Other areas of the hospital complex, including the main building, are operating normally.

“Patients who cannot be seen until power returns will have their outpatient appointments rescheduled,” the hospital said in a memo.

THE Congonhas Airport was also affected. According to the Aena concessionaire, although the site is open to receive landings and takeoffs, “due to airline operational decisions due to strong winds, there have been ten alternative flights to other airports, 3 arrivals and 2 departures canceled.”

According to Enel São Paulo operations director Márcio Jardim, customers are expected to be affected by gusty winds until the end of the day. “Since our dealership has a very high customer density, this ends up causing network outages due to objects being thrown into the network, whether it be trees, branches and the like.” In addition to short circuits in the affected networks, poles are also damaged. The particularity of this event, according to Jardim, is the wind forecast until the end of the day.

Asked about the impacts on large equipment, the director specifies that most problems occur in medium voltage networks, which run along cables on poles.

With the arrival of the rainy season, new episodes of wind are expected, but Jardim says the company is better prepared. “Yesterday we stopped with 1,000 teams, today we will operate with more than 1,300 teams to meet this demand.”

In larger teams there are five to seven employees and trucks with cranes, intermediate groups, with trucks with baskets, smaller cars and motorcycle technicians.

The number of customers affected, which has increased rapidly, is due to the fact that the region in which Enel São Paulo operates has a density of customers per square kilometer that is 23 times higher than the average of other distributors.

The company also currently has 700 generators, Jardim said. He emphasizes that, in the case of objects coming into contact with the electrical network, people must avoid approaching them and contact Enel through the service channels.

Heavy rains that lashed the state throughout Tuesday caused flooding and falling trees. One of the most affected towns was Sorocaba, in the interior of the state. 94 millimeters of precipitation were recorded in 24 hours, according to Civil Defense.

The Sorocaba River overflowed, causing flooding on several roads. Some vehicles were submerged. On Avenida 15 de Agosto, which borders the river to the north, a car was almost completely covered by water.

In Guareí, flooding was recorded on public roads, temporarily affecting around thirty houses. There was no need to evict the residents. A landslide was also recorded at the head of the Itapigue bridge. Municipal Civil Protection teams are cleaning the affected roads and houses. There were no signs of casualties, displaced people or homeless people.

Due to the winds, the Brazilian Navy issued an alert indicating that the area between Imbituba, in Santa Catarina, and Ilhabela, on the northern coast of São Paulo, could suffer from winds and storm surges until Wednesday evening, with waves forecast between 2.5 m and 3.5 m.

According to the Department of Environment, Infrastructure and Logistics of the SP government, 12 national parks in the capital São Paulo and the metropolitan region were temporarily closed due to the wind. Ministerial rules provide for closure in the event of wind exceeding 40 km/h or a high risk of falling branches and trees. In the capital, all parks were closed and the town hall also suspended Christmas events.

STATE PARKS CLOSED

• Capital – East Zone
• Maria Cristina Park
• Itaim Biacica Park
• Engenheiro Goulart Park (PET)
• Vila Jacui Park
• Belém Park – Manoel Pita
• Capital – North Zone
• Youth Park – Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns
• Capital – South Zone
• Guarapiranga Ecological Park
• Greater São Paulo
• Várzea do Embu Park (Embu-Guaçu)
• Chácara da Baronesa Park (Santo André)
• Jequitibá Park (Cotia)
• Gabriel Chucre Park (Carapicuiba)
• Nascentes do Tietê Park (Salesópolis)

• São Paulo: falling trees and partial collapse of a wall were recorded
• Avaré: There were falling trees, flooding points and slope collapses
• Matão: Two tree falls were recorded, including one on a parked vehicle
• Presidente Prudente: Flood point recorded on public roads
• Campos do Jordão: tree falls recorded
• Marília: The municipality experienced tree falls, landslides and flooding points
• Bauru: tree falls and flood point recorded
• Piracicaba: tree falls have been recorded
• Piedade: There were falling trees and spots of flooding
• Sorocaba: Tree falls and flood points recorded
• Cesário Lange: The municipality had falling trees and a roof
• Araçoiaba da Serra: Tree falls and flooding points were recorded
• Votorantim: Flood points recorded.
• Source: Civil Defense

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