General

New laws to help population hit by landslides in Petrópolis

120 fatalities have been reported so far

Cristina Indio do Brasil - Repórter da Agência Brasil

Published on 18/02/2022 - 13:58

Rio de Janeiro

Bombeiros, moradores e voluntários trabalham no local do deslizamento no Morro da Oficina, após a chuva que castigou Petrópolis, na região serrana fluminense — © Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil

Rio de Janeiro’s government published on Friday (Feb. 18) in the Official Gazette of the State three laws which will guarantee direct help to residents and entrepreneurs in Petrópolis, in the mountain region of Rio state. Heavy rains on Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 15) caused landslides and floods, killing at least 120 people.

With the new legislation approved on Thursday (Feb. 17) by the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj), and sanctioned by the governor, local residents and entrepreneurs will be able to accumulate lines of credit. The measure is valid only for companies located in areas hit by the calamity.

Beneficiaries shall have longer grace periods before starting to repay the loan. The total payment term may be extended by up to two years. “We urgently need to guarantee assistance to the victims in Petrópolis. We want to rebuild the city and mitigate the impacts caused by the tragedy that hit its population,” said Governor Cláudio Castro.

A line of credit up to BRL 500,000 ($ 97,000 dollars) will also be offered to rebuild working capital for micro, small and medium-sized companies in the affected areas.

According to the state government, the lines of credit to be financed by the Economic Recovery Fund for Rio Municipalities (FREMF) will have zero interest rates and a grace period of up to 12 months.