Lusa
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About 2,000 people were forced to leave their homes in northeastern Brazil after a pipeline burst, and they are expected to return within 72 hours, Brazilian officials said on Saturday.
Regional Development Minister Rogério Marinho told the Associated Press (AP) news agency that residents around the Jati dam, in the Brazilian state of Ceará, in the northeast of the country, were advised to leave their homes as a measure of prevention after the concrete pipe has burst.
The incident occurred late Friday afternoon, when the bursting of the pipeline damaged part of the dam and flooded the power plant.
The force of water that erupted from the damaged pipeline caused damage to about 40 meters of a dam wall, but did not cause injuries, according to the same source.
The accident happened a day after the Minister of Regional Development opened the floodgate that releases water from the dam to supply the Ceará Water Belt (CAC), a new project still under testing, according to the local press.
The official said the situation is under control and that displaced residents should be able to return home within 72 hours.
The affected part of the dam is part of the largest water project in Brazil, a diversion from the São Francisco River that is intended to supply arid regions in three Brazilian states, inaugurated in late June by President Jair Bolsonaro.
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