More than 27 kilometers of rivers and ditches have been cleared in the city – Photo: Pallosa City Hall/Disclosure

To avoid tragedies and inconvenience to the population due to rains, Palos City Hall has stepped up cleaning. A large working group has been set up to make sure that the next rainy season will not be a hectic time for the city’s residents. The layout has undergone changes after flooding, damage to houses and other damage caused by floods earlier in the year.

In recent months, the mayor’s office has mobilized 30 pieces of equipment and cleared more than 27 kilometers of rivers and ditches in the city. Also, 200 streets were inspected and culverts were cleared for the passage of water. Among the equipment used are excavators, long reach excavators and backhoe loaders. In total, more than 130 people are involved in clean-up works, cleaning of ditches and rivers, as well as research on the solution of macro-drainage, which has already passed through the districts of Centro, Frei Damian, Jardim Eldorado, Brejara and is currently preparing for relocation. to the Cubatao Guard.

Between the last hours of 2022 and the first hours of this year, 400 millimeters of rain fell in the city. This unprecedented number took the public, governments and professionals by surprise and forced changes in planning to deal with this situation and improve prevention to protect residents.

To avoid tragedies and inconvenience to the population due to rains, Palos City Hall has stepped up cleaning – Palos City Hall/Disclosure

To avoid tragedies and inconvenience to the population due to rains, Palos City Hall has stepped up cleaning – Palos City Hall/Disclosure

At that moment, the mayor’s office and state authorities provided the necessary assistance and mobilized all forces to help the residents. The scene that caused the greatest resonance was the rescue of children at the city hall.

“The military police helicopter brought four children, all wet. They had just been rescued when they were found on the roof of the house. When these children arrived, they were starving. We did not know how many hours they went without food, but here we shared everything that we had, what was left of the hours of work that had passed and the crews left. We gave them bread, coffee, water and a place to be comfortable and warm. It was the most impressive scene I have ever seen,” said Julio Marcelino, Palhoca civil defense coordinator.

continuous work

Preventive measures are being taken to avoid flooding and damage to houses and streets during the rainy season – Photo: Palos City Hall/Disclosure

Now the task is to prevent the repetition of such scenes. According to the Civil Defense, historically, Palos has experienced a combination that is harmful to residents: heavy rain and high tide. Because of this specificity, the path that water travels needs to be completely reconsidered. To minimize the impact and prevent a recurrence of the unpredictable events, Palos City Hall has promised to widen the ditches and remove anything that obstructs the flow of water.

“All the rain that falls in the nearest mountains passes through Palos, from Santo Amaro, from San Pedro de Alcantara. All the rain from there meets the sea at Palhoch, and this we cannot calculate. We are the pinnacle of an important cycle, so we will need to work for the good of all and pray for this to become a fact in the history of the city, but only one,” added Julio.