Those who decided to go down to the north coast of São Paulo this Thursday (25th), a public holiday in the capital of São Paulo, took more than 7 hours to arrive.
Due to the heavy rain that hits cities such as Caraguatatuba, São Sebastião and Ubatuba, the ancient Tamoios mountain range, which connects the interior to the coast, was closed on Wednesday night (24). It was the second time this week that the track was blocked.
Videos sent to CNN show the long line of cars. Many people got out of the vehicles to stretch, while the line was still moving.
With the closure of the old track, traffic in the Serra Nova da Tamoios flows in train operation, using a “stop and go” scheme.
According to the Tamoios concessionaire, which manages the highway, a landslide was recorded around 9:30 am this Thursday (25), at Km 73 of the highway.
The Mogi-Bertioga Highway, another main access to the north coast, is also blocked due to the collapse of a barrier in the mountain section.
The options for drivers, both towards the coast and towards São Paulo, are to use the Rodovia dos Imigrantes and the new Tamoios lane.
The driver also has the Oswaldo Cruz highway as an alternative, which connects Taubaté to Ubatuba.
Warning for rain on the north coast
The Civil Defense of São Paulo reported that it has been raining since early Wednesday evening (24) in the region of Caraguatatuba, Paraibuna, Ubatuba, São Sebastião, Ilhabela, Praia Grande, Santos, São Vicente, Guarujá and Bertioga.
The city of São Sebastião is in a state of attention. According to municipal management, it has been raining in the region since last Saturday (20). “In 72 hours, the rain gauges at the National Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Alerts (Cemaden) recorded 122.6 millimeters of rain. The entire Civil Defense is on standby and monitors the South and North Coasts”, he states in a note.
The Civil Defense sirens sounded, for the first time, on Wednesday night (24) in warning in Vila Sahy, due to the risk of landslides due to the heavy rains that hit the region. The sirens advised people living in high-risk areas to leave their homes and seek shelter.
Early last year, the same region suffered a historic storm that killed 64 people.
The city of São Sebastião informed, through social media, that the Henrique Tavares de Jesus Municipal School is open as a shelter for the community.
According to the Civil Defense of São Sebastião, the heavy rain caused temporary flooding in the Juquehy, Barra do Sahy, Barra do Una, Camburí and Boracéia neighborhoods. Four residents of a risk area spent the night in the shelter provided by the City Hall.
Municipal Civil Defense teams remain in the field providing support to affected residents and cleaning the affected areas. According to the city hall, there were no victims.
Forecast for the next few days
The Civil Defense of São Paulo issued a red alert (which means great danger) of intense rain on the coast of São Paulo until Saturday (27).
The volume of rain can be high and exceed 200 millimeters in three days:
In Baixada Santista, the accumulated rainfall over the three days could reach 220 mm;
In Vale do Ribeira, registers must be up to 180mm;
On the north coast, the alert is orange (which means danger), with a rainfall volume of up to 150mm.
In the interior of São Paulo, the alert is also orange, the volume can reach 80mm in Vale do Ribeira and 100mm in Sorocaba and Itapeva.
Source: CNN Brasil
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