Storm leaves vehicles submerged in Ribeirão Preto – 12/23/2023 – Daily life

A storm that hit Ribeirão Preto (313 km from São Paulo) this Saturday (23) flooded some of the city’s main roads, left vehicles submerged and harmed consumers who seek the central region for end-of-year shopping.

The rains, which began in the early hours of the morning, mainly hit roads in or leading to the city’s central region, as well as the area around the Ribeirão bus terminal. Sections of the Anhanguera highway were also affected and left traffic congested in both directions.

There is no information on homeless people so far, according to Ribeirão City Hall.

Images circulating on social media and messaging apps show buses marooned on some roads, with water rising and passengers showing despair. In a video, a bus tried to pass through a flooded road, but was stopped by a person who stopped in front of the bus and did not allow it to pass.

According to RP Mobi, an urban mobility company responsible for managing traffic in the city, flooding was recorded on Avenida Francisco Junqueira, one of the most important in the city, with instructions to avoid the central region. Still in the center, José Bonifácio Street also became impassable.

The Saturday before Christmas is considered by local businesses to be one of the main dates of the year – Ribeirão Preto is known for its vocation in the commerce and services sectors.

Via Norte, which connects the center to neighborhoods in the north, was flooded in both directions. Two occupants of a vehicle that was submerged were trying to hold it back so it wouldn’t be swept away by the water.

Other flooding points are Avenida Independência, one of those that connects the central region to the south of the city, and the entrance to the Quintino Facci neighborhood.

Also according to RP Mobi, the company and Ribeirão Civil Defense teams are currently monitoring the locations.

The storm also caused the city’s zoo to suspend activities this Saturday, to maintain the space. The site will only reopen for visitors on Wednesday (27).

rainy christmas

Christmas is expected to be rainy in the South, Southeast and Central-West regions of the country, due to a new extratropical cyclone that will form from Sunday (24) between Uruguay and the south of Rio Grande do Sul, according to Inmet (National Institute of Meteorology).

The body, linked to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, stated that the cyclone should gain strength from the early hours of Monday (25).

Extratropical cyclones are common in the south of the country. They generate a lot of rain and strong winds, according to meteorologist Josélia Pegorim, from Climatempo.

According to her, they form in areas where the air pressure is lower than that of the surroundings. Wind circulation drives moisture to higher levels of the atmosphere, generating rain clouds.

According to Inmet, the formation of the new cyclone and the encounter of hot and humid winds from the north and colder winds from the south, give rise to areas of instability over a large part of the South region, with forecasts of intense rain and gusts of wind, which could stay between 80 km/h and 100 km/h between Monday and Tuesday (26), in the east of Rio Grande do Sul and in Santa Catarina.

São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are also expected to start the week with strong winds due to the cyclone, which is expected to gain even more strength on Tuesday, but may have moved to the high seas.