China News Agency, Sao Paulo, April 3 (Reporter Mo Chengxiong) The Brazilian Rio de Janeiro state government reported on the 3rd local time that as of that day, the death toll from the heavy rain disaster in the southern part of the state had risen to 16, and 7 people were still missing.
At present, the two nuclear power plants located in the disaster area are operating normally.
The Rio de Janeiro state government said that since March 31, several towns in the southern part of the state, including Angra dos Reis, Paraty and Mesquita, have been hit by torrential rains. Floods and landslides occurred, causing heavy casualties.
As of the 3rd, 8 people were killed and 6 people were missing in Angra Dos Reis, the most severely affected city; 7 members of a family in Paraty City were killed due to landslides, and another person was missing.
In Mezquita, a man tragically died after being struck by lightning in heavy rain.
Rio de Janeiro state governor Claudio Castro (Claudio Castro) went to Angra dos Reis on the 3rd to inspect the disaster.
He asked Brazil's infrastructure minister, Marcelo Sampaio, to shut down two nuclear power plants in the city because landslides severely blocked roads near the two plants, making it impossible to implement contingency plans in the event of an accident. Including the evacuation of residents around the nuclear power plant.
Brazilian President Bolsonaro held a video call with Castro and the mayor of Angra dos Reis, Fernando Jordao, on the 3rd, asking the local government to open up the blocked roads as soon as possible to protect Angra - Residents around the Dos Reis nuclear power plant were able to evacuate in an emergency.
However, the Brazilian nuclear power company (Eletronuclear) said on the 3rd that the heavy rain will not affect the normal operation of the two nuclear power plants in the Angra-Dos Reis region, which are currently operating at full capacity.
These are the only two nuclear power plants in Brazil at present, and the output of nuclear power accounts for about 3% of the total electricity in Brazil.
The company also said that in the event of a nuclear accident, all residents within a 5-kilometer radius of the nuclear power plant would be evacuated to shelters at least 15 kilometers away.
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