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Rio de Janeiro windstorm disruptions

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2026-08-05 11:45 UTC → 2026-08-05 20:10 UTC · added removed

A severe windstorm hit struck Rio de Janeiro on 29 March, producing gusts of 105.5 km/h at Galeão International Airport. The event knocked Airport and knocking out electricity for about 1.1 million customers, leaving more than 26,000 without power initially and later around 12,000 still in outage. customers. The hardest damage was reported in western neighborhoods such as Campo Grande and Santa Cruz and in the municipalities of Duque de Caxias, Nova Iguaçu and São João de Meriti. Utility nearby municipalities, prompting utility firms deployed to deploy roughly 1,500 emergency workers and installed generators, while the generators. The state justice court ordered Light to restore service urgently, imposing a daily fine of R$ 50,000 for non‑compliance. A few days later, on On 4 August, Rio’s August (2024), municipal civil defense raised the wind alert to Stage 2 after forecasts warned of moderate to strong winds with gusts up to 76 km/h, especially in western and coastal districts. The alert prompted residents Residents were urged to avoid trees and metal structures and to sign up for free SMS warnings. Power outages persisted for more than 30 hours in some areas, and three weather‑related deaths were recorded. recorded, and a foam mattress was lifted onto a tree on Ipanema Avenue. Energy distributors responded by accelerating accelerated grid‑resilience investments, raising annual spending from R$ 18 billion in 2021 to an expected R$ 41 billion by 2025, focusing on digitalisation, automation and underground lines. A notable incident—a mattress lifted by the similar Stage 2 wind and caught alert was issued again on a tree 4 August 2026, with forecasts of gusts up to 76 km/h and isolated reports exceeding 100 km/h. The Defesa Civil sent SMS warnings covering western and coastal zones. The gusts caused two deaths, the fall of hundreds of trees and outages affecting more than 800 000 electricity customers. Enel Rio activated its emergency plan, preparing for possible gusts of up to 90 km/h. The Brazilian Association of Electricity Distributors reiterated its commitment to raise annual investment to R$ 41 billion by 2025, with over 40 % earmarked for grid modernisation and digitalisation. The foam‑mattress incident on Ipanema Avenue—highlighted was reported again, underscoring the recurring unusual hazards of the storm. these wind events.

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  1. 2026-08-05 20:10 UTC Rio de Janeiro windstorm disruptions
  2. 2026-08-05 11:45 UTC Rio de Janeiro windstorm disruptions

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