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A hailstorm covered the road between Piedade and Ibiúna, in the interior of São Paulo, with a foot of ice that trapped dozens of drivers for more than an hour. Cars slipped without being able to move forward or backward, and traffic was only released when trucks passed breaking the ice. Piedade recorded 48 mm of rain, more than 100 houses were damaged, and the city hall is expected to declare a state of emergency.
A storm of hail turned the road between Piedade and Ibiúna, in the interior of São Paulo, into a scene that looked more like Patagonia than São Paulo. The road was completely white, covered by a foot of ice stones that prevented dozens of vehicles from moving in any direction. Driver Luis Miguel Amorese, a resident of Piedade, reported that his car got “stuck in the ice” and that vehicles were trying to climb a stretch of the road but “slipped back and forth” without being able to get out of place. The standstill lasted more than an hour, and drivers were only able to resume their journey after trucks and buses passed by, breaking and melting the hail that covered the road.
The hail that hit the region did not stop on the road. In Piedade, more than 100 houses were damaged by the storm, 20 people were displaced, and one resident fell from the roof while trying to make repairs, suffering a leg fracture. The Civil Defense of the State of São Paulo sent humanitarian aid with cleaning kits, bedding, food baskets, and hygiene items, and the city hall is expected to declare a state of emergency this Monday (20). Piedade and Votorantim recorded the highest rainfall totals in the Sorocaba region, with 48 mm in the last 24 hours.
The account of the driver who got stuck in the hail for more than an hour
Luis Miguel Amorese was with his father returning from Ibiúna when the storm began. First came the heavy rain, which reduced visibility to almost zero and forced both of them to stop the car. After driving about 300 meters, the rain eased and they resumed their journey. But about six kilometers ahead, the hail began to fall with an intensity that Luis had never seen.
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The hailstones fell with such force that the sound of impact on the vehicle was deafening. “Some stones started to fall, like, that had no explanation. Then we pulled over,” reports Luis, describing that there was a lot of wind and foliage falling on the car in addition to the hail. When they got out of the vehicle after the storm, they found the road covered by a foot of ice that prevented any movement. Several cars around were in the same situation, stopped and unable to move over the accumulated hail.
How the hail transformed the highway into an ice rink
According to information released by the G1 portal, the accumulation of hail on the road between Piedade and Ibiúna reached a level that created conditions similar to a snow-covered road. The tires of the cars lost traction on the compacted ice stones, and vehicles trying to climb inclined sections of the road skidded without being able to advance. The combination of hail volume, road incline, and the absence of any ice removal system on the road kept dozens of drivers immobilized.
The situation was only resolved when heavier vehicles began to circulate. Trucks and buses, with enough weight to crush the hail under their tires, passed through the section and began breaking and melting the compacted ice, opening trails for smaller cars to finally follow. The process took more than an hour, during which the drivers had no alternative but to wait. “I had never seen this. The car got stuck in the ice,” summarized Luis.
The damage that hail caused to more than 100 houses in Piedade
The hail that covered the road was just part of a storm that devastated the city of Piedade. More than 100 houses were damaged by the hailstones, which destroyed roofs, broke windows, and caused leaks that compromised the structure of dozens of residences. The Soares neighborhood was the most affected, and the local Presbyterian Church was transformed into a support point to assist families affected by the hail.
The situation left 20 people homeless who could not return to their homes. On Saturday night, a resident fell from the roof while trying to make emergency repairs and suffered a leg fracture, being rescued by Samu. The case illustrates the additional risk that hailstorms create: in addition to direct damage, improvised repairs under pressure put residents in danger. The city hall of Piedade intensified emergency services and is expected to declare a state of public calamity this Monday.
The help that arrived for the hail victims in Piedade
The Civil Defense of the State of São Paulo responded to the storm by sending humanitarian aid to the municipalities most affected by the hail. For Piedade, 50 cleaning kits, 50 individual cleaning kits, 50 dormitory kits, 50 basic food baskets, and 50 hygiene kits were made available, a set of resources that meets the immediate needs of families who lost belongings or were displaced due to the destruction of their roofs.
The city hall of Piedade intensified emergency services that are expected to continue in the coming days. The public calamity decree set for Monday will allow the municipality to access state and federal resources more quickly to repair the damage caused by the hail, including the reconstruction of roofs, cleaning of public roads, and social assistance to affected families. For a city in the interior of São Paulo, dealing with the effects of a storm that covered roads with ice and destroyed more than 100 houses is a challenge that exceeds the municipal budget capacity.
What caused the hailstorm in the interior of São Paulo
Cities in the Sorocaba region were hit by heavy rains accompanied by wind and hail this Saturday (18). Piedade and Votorantim recorded the highest rainfall totals, with 48 mm in 24 hours, a significant volume that, combined with the hail and gusts of wind, created the conditions for the observed damage. The atmospheric instability in the region is favored by the presence of cold fronts meeting warm, humid air, generating severe storms with the potential to produce considerable-sized hail.
For residents who experienced the storm, images of the road covered in ice and cars lined up are the record of an event that many described as unprecedented in the region. On the Bunjiro Nakao Highway, at km 83.5, about four kilometers ahead of where Luis took his recordings, other drivers also found the lane covered by hail, indicating that the storm covered a wide area. Videos recorded by residents and drivers circulated on social media and showed the scale of the phenomenon that transformed a São Paulo road into a white ice carpet.
Hail covered a road in the interior of SP with a foot of ice and trapped drivers for over an hour. Have you faced something similar? Was your area affected by this storm? Tell us in the comments.
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