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19/01/2011NEWS IN ENGLISH - Rain continues to fall in Rio
Newsroom Agência Brasil
Brasilia – The amount of rain that poured on the city of Nova Friburgo during a 24-hour period on January 11 and 12 was a record. It totaled 182.8 mm (average total rainfall for the whole month of January is slightly less than 230 mm). The previous record rainfall for a 24-hour period in Nova Friburgo was 113 mm on 24 January 1964.
Yesterday afternoon, around 4:30 pm, it was once again raining in the mountains of the state of Rio de Janeiro (“região serrano”) where the cities of Nova Friburgo, Teresopolis and Petropolis are located. Weather reports described the rain as “heavy.” Civil Defense officials announced that their personnel have been placed “on high alert.”
Also yesterday afternoon, the governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Sergio Cabral, declared that the federal weather bureau ("Inmet") did not issue clear warnings to the population of the danger. "They just said the rain would be moderate to heavy," complained the governor.
In spite of the continuing rain, search and rescue operations are underway in the area, which has been widely devastated by torrential rainfall, floods and mudslides. Work is moving ahead to clear roads and restore vital infrastructure.
Meanwhile, here in Brasilia, minister of Science and Technology, Aloizio Mercandante, announced that by 2014 Brazil will install a national system of catastrophe prevention.
Allen Bennett – translator/editor The News in English
Link - Volta a chover forte na região serrana do Rio
Link - Inmet: chuva em Nova Friburgo foi a maior da história da cidade
Link - Governador do Rio responsabiliza Inmet por previsão do tempo equivocada
Link - Governo anuncia criação de sistema nacional de prevenção de catástrofes