City halls of riverside municipalities receive flood alert in Velho Chico

At least 33 city halls of riverside municipalities in the Submédio and Baixo São Francisco, three of them from Bahia, were contacted and alerted by Companhia Hidro Elétrica do São Francisco (Chesf) about changes in flow and flood conditions in Velho Chico. The objective is for municipal managers and civil defenses to be on alert due to the increase in river level that has been occurring since January 12, 2022.

Chesf is carrying out a flood control operation on the São Francisco River from the largest reservoir in the Northeast, Sobradinho (BA), and has announced in advance the increase in flow, with the opening of floodgates (splash), so that the municipal authorities could organize themselves, within the agility necessary for the situation.

The waters are being released to wait for the large volume of rains that are falling in the Alto São Francisco this month and considering that the wet period extends until April.

“The National Electricity System Operator, the ONS, declared a flood regime in the São Francisco River Basin and, therefore, we have to act with specific rules, waiting for more water to arrive, as there is still rain happening in Minas Gerais. The forecast is for Sobradinho, our largest reservoir, to reach 75% of storage by the end of January”, informed the director of Operations at Chesf, João Henrique Franklin.

In addition to contacting city halls and municipal civil defense agencies, Chesf has been widely publicizing the scheduled flows, informing that since the 12th, the release of water from the reservoirs has been increasing by 500 cubic meters per second (m³/s) every two days. On the 24th, the Sobradinho (BA) and Xingó (AL) hydroelectric plants will be releasing 4,000 m³/s.

As there was no flow at this level for 12 years, Chesf disclosed to authorities, the press and published on its website information about the locations where there are points sensitive to flows above 2,500 m³/s, so that society and the competent public bodies can monitoring and take steps to ensure safety.

Check out the riverside cities already contacted by Chesf:

San Francisco Sub-Midfield:

• Juazeiro – BA
• Curaçao – BA
• Paulo Afonso – BA
• Petrolina – PE
• Belém do São Francisco – PE
• Cabrobó – PE
• Forest – PE
• Lagoa Grande – PE
• Santa Maria da Boa Vista – PE

Lower San Francisco:

• Penedo-AL
• Sugar Loaf Mountain
• Belo Monte – AL
• Olho D'Água do Casado-AL
• Porto Real do Colégio-AL
• Piaçabuçu-AL
• piranhas-AL
• São Brás-AL
• New Church – AL
• Traipu – AL
• own – SE
• Amparo do São Francisco – SE
• Brejo Grande – SE
• Canhoba – SE
• Canindé do São Francisco – SE
• Gararu – SE
• Flores Island – SE
• Monte Alegre de Sergipe – SE
• Our Lady of Lourdes – SE
• Our Lady of Glory -SE
• Neopolis – SE
• Poço Redondo – SE
• Porto da Folha – SE
• Tile – SE