Rio de Janeiro decrees "the state of crisis" caused by torrential rains

The municipality of Rio de Janeiro decreed Wednesday night the & # 39; state of the artisis & # 39; for the fort the rains, with winds up to 110 km / h, which causesflooding, tree cutting and fear of landslides in the favelas.

The Rio Operations Center (COR) asked the Cariocas "to only move in cases of extreme need", to warn the authorities in case of "signs of cracks" in homes and homes. to be attentive to "sirens" which warned of the risk of landslides.

The southernmost area, the most touristy, in which are juxtaposed favelas and luxury residential areas, has been one of the most punished.

In the Rocinha favela, the largest in the city, 153.2 millimeters of water fell in four hours, more than half of the February average.

In Copacabana Winds of up to 110 km / hour were blowing, killing several trees on the busy Nossa Senhora Avenue in Copacabana, parallel to the beach, the CoR announced.

An AFP reporter said that several streets who come from Botafogo Beach were floodedwith fallen trees and traffic jams.

Power outages also occurred in the densely populated area west and north of the city.

"The state of crisis" is the third and most important warning about precipitation that can cause floods or landslides.

The weather forecast for Thursday is moderate precipitation, with isolated gusts and moderate to strong winds. The maximum will be 31ºC, in austral summer.

Rio experienced the hottest January of this year since the beginning of the official archives in 1922, with an average temperature of 37.4 degrees Celsius.