Brazil, Bahia State. A dam has collapsed in the town of Itampe. After days of heavy rain

On Saturday evening, the Igua dam collapsed near the city of Vitoria da Conquista in the state of Bahia, southern Brazil. The surrounding area was flooded, particularly in Itampe municipality. There have been no reports of any deaths or injuries so far. However, very few details of the incident were made public.

Local media publish photos of the surrounding flooded areas on social media, which are already in danger of flooding as a result of prolonged rains.

“The dam, which had a lot of water, has collapsed and a sudden, heavy flood is expected in Itambe municipality,” local authorities wrote on their official Instagram account.

“All residents must evacuate the areas along the Viruga River as a matter of urgency,” he added.

Itampi is an agricultural region in the southern part of the state of Bahia, located about 200 kilometers from the coastal town of Ilheus.

As Sheila Lemos, later mayor of Vitoria da Conquista, confirmed, all those living near the river were evacuated. But it warned that the flooding was threatening traffic on the BR-116 highway, the main communications artery for trucks, which connects northeastern and southern Brazil.

So far, more than 11,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, and more than 4,000 people have benefited from state welfare due to the floods in Bahia state.

“Thousands of people had to leave their homes because the water rose by one or two metres, and in some places by three metres,” state governor Roy Castro said on Saturday.

Heavy rains that have hit the area since early November have killed at least 17 people, according to Bahia’s Civil Protection Authority. In total, more than 60 municipalities have found themselves in a state of crisis due to bad weather.