Heavy rain causes flooding in Praia da Vitória

The nine islands of the Azores under yellow warning

Açoriano Oriental reports that according to the municipality of Praia da Vitória, with the largest situations occurred in Largo da Batalha, affecting 23 parked vehicles and houses flooded.

The intense rain that fell during the night of Thursday and today in the municipality of Praia da Vitória, in Terceira, caused 15 occurrences, including flooded houses and roads, landslides and the overflow of a stream.

According to a note from the Praia da Vitória City Council, the largest situations occurred in Largo da Batalha, affecting 23 vehicles parked there and the flooding of some houses; in the camping area in Paul, which forced the relocation of 53 campers from the camping area in Paul to the Escola Profissional da Praia da Vitória; and cuts in the water supply, particularly in Santa Cruz. There was also the overtopping of some streams and the obstruction of some roads.

“At this point, most situations have already been overcome. It has already been possible to restore the water supply in several places, and the municipal services are resolving the situation in the urban center of Santa Cruz. For example, traffic has already been re-established on Rua Nova and Caminho do Facho. We closed the Facho stairs as a precaution and we have our operatives working in several areas”, explained the mayor, Vânia Ferreira.

The mayor also revealed that due to the cleaning work, road traffic on Rua do Cruzeiro (Fontinhas) and Rua das Covas (São Brás) will be conditioned until next Monday.

Vânia Ferreira also states that “all efforts were made by the municipality, through the Municipal Civil Protection Service of Praia da Vitória, with the competent authorities in safeguarding the population. The situation remains on the alert, given the continuous rain, so we will continue to pay attention to the needs of citizens”.

The monitoring of these events involved means of the following entities: Praia da Vitória City Council, through the SMPCPV, Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service of the Azores, Volunteer Firefighters of Praia da Vitória, Public Security Police, Praia Ambiente EM and the Regional Government of Azores, through Public Works.

The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) has placed the nine islands of the Azores under yellow warning until 12:00 on Saturday due to forecasts of rain, sometimes heavy, which may be accompanied by thunderstorms.