Authorities hoped to restore electricity in a matter of hours / Photo: Courtesy
About 1.4 million homes in Sao Paulo, Brazil, were without power Saturday nearly 24 hours after a brief but powerful storm devastated South America’s largest metropolis. At least seven people died, the AP news agency reported.
Sao Paulo state authorities said record wind gusts of up to 108 kilometers per hour (67 miles per hour) on Friday toppled transmission lines and trees, causing severe damage in some parts. The storm also caused the suspension of operations at several airports, as well as the water supply in many areas, according to the state government.
One person was killed when a tree fell on an outdoor stand, authorities said. At least six other people in the neighboring state of Sao Paulo also died.
According to the note published by AP, authorities hoped to restore electricity in a matter of hours. But several neighborhoods in the metropolitan area, which is home to about 21 million people, remained without power Saturday and authorities urged residents to limit their consumption of drinking water.
Injured
Most of the impacts were recorded in the service area of a single utility company, Enel-Sao Paulo, which is partly owned by AES Corporation. In May, the Virginia, US-based power company announced it was selling its 47% stake in its Brazil unit for $640 million.
Regulators ordered an inspection of the utility, warning that if it does not resolve the outages satisfactorily and quickly, they will take steps to terminate the private concession.
For its part, Enel reported that 17 high-voltage transmission lines were affected by the storm. It did not provide a time frame for restoring service.
Sao Paulo / Web Editorial / AP
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