May 11, 2022

10:05

Ívina Garcia – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – After reaching a severe flood level, the waters of the Negro River continue to advance and already occupy the streets of downtown Manaus. Growing, on average, 4 centimeters per day since the beginning of May, the current quota is 29.12m, according to data from the Port of Manaus.

Last year, on May 10, the river level registered 29.47m, a difference of 35cm for the same day in 2022. The year 2021 registered the historical flood of 30.02m and causes losses for several permissionaries in the Manaus Center.

The merchant Douglas Coelho de Souza, 40, one of those directly affected by the river flooding, has worked on Rua dos Barés for 10 years. The fruit merchant tells that last year, on the same date, the river had already completely taken over the business where he works.

“I had a loss of 40,000 last year due to the flooding, because I had no way to sell merchandise. I depend on cars passing here on this street to sell”, he explained.

Teams from the Civil Defense of Manaus were on site, on Tuesday morning, 10. To CENARIUM, the Civil Defense Secretary, Colonel Fernando Paiva Pires Júnior, confirmed the construction of 200 meters of bridges on Rua dos Barés. On the other hand, the interdiction of the road is not foreseen. “During the night, many goods are unloaded here, and we have no way of interdicting it yet”, he explains.

Affected families

The impacts of the flooding of the Rio Negro are already affecting the daily life of the population, which is being pressured to seek help from public agencies. In all of Amazonas, the government predicts that 385 thousand people will suffer some consequence with the rising waters.

In the urban zone of the capital, the Educandos district is one of the ones that suffers most from the adversities of the flood phenomenon. In the region, besides the flooding, the residents need to move between wooden structures set up at a glance, by the authorities, between one house and another, and with the appearance of poisonous animals, such as snakes and alligators.

Also read: In Manaus, Rio Negro reaches severe flood quota and waters already threaten houses on stilts

Above average rains

The National Institute of Meteorology and Statistics (INMET) released data on the rains in Manaus. At first, the Institute explains that the influence of the La Niña phenomenon is responsible for having increased the average rainfall in the capital.

The total accumulated rainfall in February 2021, at the Conventional Weather Station of Manaus (AM), was 305.0mm, while in February 2022 it was 315.8mm. In both years, the rains were above the historical average, which corresponds to 296.8mm.

On the other hand, the Institute explains that the presence of the phenomenon already has less intensity if compared to the initial year. March 2021 had more rain than March 2022, with a total rainfall of 588.9mm, besides being considered the second wettest March since 1968.