One year after the rains that caused the death of 235 people in Petrópolis, in the Serrana Region of Rio, residents try to rebuild their lives in the midst of the pain of mourning the loss of relatives, friends and neighbors. People who lived in the most affected areas complain about the delay in the beginning of the works by the authorities. A march towards the City Council, this Wednesday (15), will also demand, among other claims, answers about the disappearance of the body of one of the victims of the greatest tragedy from the city.
Lucas Rufino’s father, 20 years old, struggles, to this day, to find out what happened to his son. Printmaker Adalton Vieira da Silva, 51, claims that the boy’s body disappeared after being found by relatives and neighbors, days later, buried in the Oficina hill — one of the places most devastated by the rains that hit the city, where 93 people died.
“In the past year, I’m still looking for an answer. We found it, went down with it and handed it over to the fire department. They took it to the IML [Instituto Médico-Legal], I spent four days there and the delegate said that he did not register. How did he not check in if it was the relatives who found it? “, He asks.
Adalton explains that he was not at the scene when the body was found. He says he arrived shortly after receiving the information through a call.
“[Os vizinhos e tios] They found Lucas near my house. They dug it up and took it out [o corpo]. It has image, it has everything. The two uncles found him and four neighbors, who saw him grow up”.
Regarding the young man’s disappearance, the Civil Police was contacted by the R7 and replied that tests showed that the body found was not Lucas Rufino. In addition, he added that the inquiry was completed by the 105th DP (Petrópolis) and forwarded to the Public Ministry.
“Several steps were taken to locate him, as well as relatives, witnesses and professionals who worked in the rescue were heard. 15 centimeters shorter than Lucas Rufino”.
Petrópolis resident also lost wife and six-year-old daughter
In addition to his son Lucas, Adalton lost his wife and another six-year-old daughter in the tragedy. He remembers that, that day, he left the two at a bar, while he went to get Lucas, who had stayed at home to help a neighbor.
Upon arrival, he says he saw his son trying to remove the water that was already invading the family home. The father says he only had time to order Lucas to leave the property.
“When I arrived in front of the house, I heard an explosion. I looked up, and he shouted: ‘Barrier, father’. We ran hand in hand. , that hot steam passing by, the floor shook. I shouted: ‘Liliane, the barrier took Lucas’. When I got downstairs, the guy at the bar put his hand on his head and said that she had stayed inside”, he said.
Still according to Adalton, mother and daughter were unable to leave where they were when the place was hit. “My wife, when she got nervous, even fainted. When she saw everything coming from above, she sat on the stairs and hugged my daughter. People managed to get out. She didn’t have the strength to run”, she reported.
Manifestation
The demonstration called for today, starting at 3 pm, will bring together residents such as seamstress Rose Mary dos Santos Araújo, 60 years old. She lived in Vila Felipe and says that she narrowly escaped the worst when she sought shelter at a neighbor’s house on the day of the tragedy.
With the house closed since then, she receives social rent, but charges for the start of reconstruction works in the area.
“They just covered everything up and said that the work is starting, but the sign has no date. The mayor [Roberto Bomtempo] He said it’s after Carnival. But we don’t have that date. And our house, which was left homeless, is just coming to an end. It’s a lot of infiltration because of the rains, a lot of humidity. When we are released to renovate the house, it is already more difficult, because it is deteriorating. They are stealing everything, window, sink, toilet, “she said.
Another resident who asks for more attention from the government is Alex Sandro Condé, 43 years old, who lost his son in the burial of the stamping shop where he worked. In addition to the difficulty of living with the pain of loss, he complains that nothing has been done for the Alto da Serra neighborhood.
“Last week, the mayor held a meeting to present the project where the accident happened, but they only showed us a photo. They divided the work, which will be done in three stages. The first stage has started, the second will have a bidding process. third, which is where we lived, in Servidão, they are still going to do the project and, later, the bidding”.
What the city and state government say
Petrópolis City Hall said that it currently has 41 works in progress and another 40 are in the bidding phase – in addition to the 48 completed. And that, in 2022, the priority was to restore the functioning of the city.
In a note, he informed that, now, with more resources, large-scale works will be started in the “heart of disasters”: in Alto da Serra and in Vila Felipe.
The state government stated, in a note sent to the Record TV, that “all the actions assumed by the State for the recovery of the infrastructure of Petrópolis are in progress and without stopped works”. In addition, he added that there was an investment of BRL 255 million in works to contain slopes, rebuild streets and structurally reinforce the spillway tunnel.
Other works are in the bidding phase. Interventions are planned, still in the first half of 2023, which will include Rua Bartolomeu Sodré, in Caxambu, with an investment of BRL 40.6 million, Estrada do Paraíso, in Sargento Boening, with an investment of BRL 17, 1 million, Travessa Vasconcelos, with an investment of R$ 9.3 million, Chácara Flora, with an investment of 18.5 million, Rua Uruguai with an investment of R$ 42.6 million and Rua 1º de Maio and Rua Paulista, with an investment of R$ 19 million.