Families who found themselves homeless after the hurricane that devastated the city of Rio Bonito do Iguaçu, in central-south Paraná, are experiencing pain and uncertainty about knowing when they will be able to return home. Forty people in this case went to the shelter in Laranjeiras do Sul, a neighboring city located 18 kilometers away. Another thousand are staying temporarily with relatives or friends.
This Sunday (9), which was sunny and hot, some people were able to return to the city that was hit by the tornado on Friday afternoon (7). “It was very sad to come back because we saw almost nothing on Friday,” said Paulo Oedela, a 54-year-old resident of Rio Bonito since 1988. “Today we saw how things are going. Fortunately, when I got home, I found our documents. Some of them were missing, but the main documents we were able to recover.”
He was taken to the shelter on Friday, where he is with his sons Marcos Paulo, 19, and Adriano, 16. The eldest son did not arrive at the shelter until Sunday. Due to foot injuries, he was transferred to a hospital in Laranjeiras do Sul.
Since Friday, medical and emergency services in the area have treated 835 people. This Sunday, more than 30 people remained hospitalized, four of them in the intensive care unit.
Five of the six people killed by the powerful storm in Paraná lived on Rio Bonito. This Sunday, the bodies of four of them were buried in the parish hall of the São Sebastião Church, in the Campo do Bugre area, which was not hit by the hurricane.
According to Simepar (Paraná Environmental Monitoring and Technical System), wind speeds reached 250 kilometers per hour in Rio Bonito at 6:10 pm on Friday. This means a hurricane of Level 3 strength on the Fujita scale, which ranges from 0 to 5.
Meteorologists from Simibar are still analyzing the possibility of other hurricanes passing through Paraná on Friday, including in the rural region of Guarapuava, more than 100 kilometers from Rio Bonito, where the sixth victim of Friday’s storms lives.
Civil Defense estimates that nearly 90% of the city has been destroyed, and Sunday was mainly dedicated to clearing rubble. According to the Ratinho Junior Department (PSD), about 200 engineers from Cohapar (Housing Corporation of Paraná) and Crea-PR (Regional Council of Engineering and Agricultural Engineering of Paraná) started on Sunday to assess the damage as well as the structural condition of the buildings.
Two public schools in the municipality were damaged and will be subject to inspection. This Sunday, the city was unable to hold the first day of Einem. According to the Ministry of Education, the test will be re-administered on December 16 and 17. .
The state Department of Education said that the seven public schools in the municipality will not have classes on Monday (10). Her appeal date is being evaluated. The ministry added that it is working to ensure that the return takes place “safely and in the shortest possible time.”
The state’s civil defense coordinator, Colonel Fernando Schonig, said on Sunday that the city should be clean within two or three days, referring to the process of removing rubble and rubble resulting from the passage of the hurricane. In addition to destroying property, the tornado downed trees and overturned cars.
According to Schonig, there is no shortage of machinery in Rio Bonito, which includes trucks and tractors. He pointed to more than 30 pieces of equipment provided by the municipality and neighboring cities.
Debris is temporarily concentrated in a field. “In a second, we’ll see what’s the best place to make this destination environmentally correct,” the colonel said.
The Paraná government announced financial assistance for residents to purchase building materials. The Parana State Legislative Assembly met on Sunday in extraordinary sessions to vote on a proposal aimed at accelerating the provision of aid to affected families.
The bill amends the Fecap (State Public Disaster Fund) and was approved unanimously on Sunday night. The text allows resources to be transferred directly to families whose homes were destroyed in the Rio Bonito region, without the need for agreements. Until then, the law only allows “fund-to-fund” transfers between the state and municipalities.
Standards still have to be determined by decree, as do values. But the state government announced that the idea was to release up to R$50,000 per family. The city’s population is about 14 thousand people.
“More than R$50 million will be released to the affected municipality, but it is necessary for people to register so they can receive this benefit to rebuild their residences as well as to meet other needs that may occur at this time,” said Hudson Teixeira, Secretary of Public Security of Paraná.
He added, “This will reduce bureaucracy, as it is not necessary to transfer it to the city council. It goes directly to the affected person who is registered in the program.”
According to the Minister, a joint effort should be made in the coming days to rewrite the identity documents lost by the victims in this tragedy.
The Minister of Integration and Regional Development, Valdez Goes, was in the city on Sunday and also announced the immediate release of R$15 million to rebuild a school and a gymnasium, all of which belong to the municipality.
Joyce stated that the federal government should provide assistance benefits to area residents.
The municipality declared a state of public disaster, which was recognized by the federal government on Saturday afternoon. On Saturday, Minister Jesse Hoffman had already passed through the city, as had Governor Ratinyo Jr.
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