|

State of emergency in Sanharo after nearly 6 months’ worth of rain in a day, Brazil

ByJulie Celestial
sanharo-unseasonal-rain-flood-november-2020-brazil

Image credit:  @blogdoedvaldo/Twitter

The city of Sanharo in Pernambuco, Brazil, has declared a state of emergency after heavy rains caused major flooding in several areas of the city on Monday, November 2, 2020. According to the state's water and climate agency (APAC), 288.8 mm (11.4 inches) of rain was recorded in a 24 hour period, which was equivalent to almost half a year's average. Meteorologists said the amount of rain is unusual for the month of November, which is commonly a dry month.

Around 300 people were left homeless after floods triggered by heavy rains hit Sanharo. This prompted the city government to declare a state of emergency and accommodated the displaced victims at gymnasiums and schools.

Videos on social media showed floods at several points in the city, sweeping away vehicles.

APAC reported that several municipalities in Agreste and Sertao have been affected, and the latter received the largest volume of rain, as well as wind gusts of over 60 km/h (37 mph). In Petrolina, a portion of a hospital's roof collapsed due to strong winds and heavy rais.

In a 24-hour period, Sanharo received 288 mm (11.4 inches) of rain, which was nearly half a year's average of 644 mm (25.3 inches). Meteorological services also noted that this amount was one of the largest in Brazil.

"The influence of La Niña caused the phenomenon to move further north," meteorologist Roni Guedes explained. "November is a dry month. The average is very low of 11 mm (0.4 inches). It is very rare to rain so much at one point."

In an official statement, the City of Sanharo said officials were still trying to fix the damage caused by the severe weather.

    This author does not have any more posts.
Share:

Published in the last 24 hours

  1. Green Lake, Hawaii's largest freshwater lake, was gone by the afternoon of June 2, 2018, after lava from Kilauea filled its basin. The water was about 20 feet deep, not the 200 feet often claimed. Epicenter
  2. Flying glass cut a teacher in Russia but none of her 44 pupils, because when a meteor flashed across the sky in 2013, she told them to get under their desks Epicenter
  3. A South Dakota man put the widest and heaviest hailstone on US record in his freezer, and a power cut melted part of it before NOAA measured it at 8 inches across and nearly 2 pounds in 2010 Epicenter
  4. Black kites and brown falcons in northern Australia have been seen snatching smoldering sticks from wildfires, flying them into unburned grass and dropping them, starting new fires that send lizards, rodents and insects running straight toward the waiting birds Epicenter

From around the web