“Bomb cyclone” leaves damage to rural properties in Paraná

The storm that hit Paraná on June 30th left extensive damage in rural areas of the state. Although the "Bomb Cyclone", as it is being called by meteorologists, has not generally compromised any agribusiness production chain, hundreds of rural producers are reporting losses ranging from destroyed crops to damage to agricultural structures and machinery, according to a FAEP survey. together with producers and rural unions.

The bulletin from the Department of Rural Economy (Deral) of the Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply of Paraná (Seab), points out that there was occasional damage to corn crops in Paraná. “It is not possible to quantify possible losses at this time, however, occasionally in specific regions there will be a reduction in productivity. The most common factor was lodging of the plants, which can make harvesting difficult or result in losses. This can also lead to a loss of quality of the cereal”, according to the technician responsible for the cereal at the entity Edmar Gervásio.

In Colombo, in the Metropolitan Region of Curitiba, one of the municipalities that produces the most vegetables in the State, with many producers practicing protected cultivation systems, several properties suffered from damage to the structures used to plant crops.

According to Marcio Toniolo, secretary of Agriculture and Supply of the municipality, the city hall provided assistance to producers to remove debris and restore production conditions and will continue to provide support to those who need it. “In the face of all these setbacks, losses will be incurred for many families who depend on this practice. Through the Civil Defense of our municipality, reports will be issued so that these families can, in some cases, claim agricultural insurance,” he says.

In Ubiratã, in the Northwest region, where the safrinha corn harvest is strong at this time, wind cones were recorded. According to the president of the municipality's Rural Union, Márcio Soares, around 15% of the cereal had been harvested by the day of the storm. “It was like a hurricane, so the place where it passed and caused damage was very concentrated,” he says. According to the director, this corridor where the damage was greatest was located between urban and rural areas, so the city was hit harder than the crops. The total amount of losses has not been accounted for by producers to date.

The storm also caused significant damage in the Guarapuava region, in the center-south of Paraná. There, heavy rain began shortly before 15 pm, accompanied by strong winds and, in some locations, hail began to fall. One of the affected properties was that of rural producer Rodolpho Luiz Werneck Botelho, also president of the municipality's rural union. He says that, in the midst of the storm, an intense and more concentrated gust of winds destroyed two sheds, one measuring 800 and the other measuring 550 square meters, in addition to also damaging employees' homes. Metal tiles also hit a tractor and a harvester.

"The wind was strong the entire time, but an extremely strong gust came, which lasted about 15 seconds. It tore off 30% of each of the two sheds, ripped off the door, took away tiles. It caused a lot of damage", says Botelho. "My employees were planting wheat and five minutes before the windstorm they had returned to the shed. They were quite scared, but no one was injured", he adds. He estimates that the damage caused by the storm is around R$100.

The president of the Guarapuava Rural Union also received reports and photos of damage caused by the storm to other properties in the region. On another rural producer's farm, the wind ripped open a shed, whose tiles also hit agricultural implements. A dairy farmer also had part of one of her sheds destroyed. On the farm of a neighbor in Botelho, the gusts "destroyed" part of the safrinha corn plantation, which was already dry. “In addition, throughout the region, we had records of many fallen trees,” he highlights.