Alexandre Luz and Halyna Kropyva are neighbors, on Rua de São Luís, in Faro🇧🇷 He has a dental clinic, she a hairdresser. When they arrived at their stores, early in the morning of this Monday, December 5th, they found the same «terror scenario». The rain flooded both establishments, leaving extensive damage.
Alexandre cannot hide his tears: «when I arrived here, at 8 am, everything was already flooded», he says, emotionally, at the entrance to his clinic, Blue Dental.
«I opened the doors and it looked like a river. It was very complicated, there were also cars floating on the street », he describes.
The marks are clearly visible on the walls of the clinic – the water reached more than half a meter in height, entered the store and destroyed «all the equipment».
«Our clinic is 100% digital. Everything was affected and these are very expensive equipment, some costing 100 euros, others 40», describes Alexandre Luz.
Rua de São Luís was one of the areas most affected by the heavy rain that fell early in the morning in Faro🇧🇷 In just one hour between 7:00 am and 8:00 am, according to Civil Protection, 19,1 millimeters of precipitation were recorded throughout the city.
Despite not having the accounts completely done yet, the businessman, who has owned Blue Dental for 12 years, admits that the losses must be “in the order of 800 thousand euros”.
This is not the first time that Rua de São Luís has been affected when it rains more in Faro🇧🇷 Alexandre Luz remembers other floods, but guarantees that this “was the worst”.
“The setting was like a horror movie. I'm still dizzy, trying to manage everything… Let's see how things evolve », she says.
On the other side of the street, Halyna Kropyva is with a broom and mop in her hand, trying to get water out of her beauty salon. There is broken glass, damaged furniture and a picture of destruction.
“Tonight was a disaster: yesterday it was raining, but we didn't know this was going to happen. They called me at 7:00 am, saying that the water was in the middle of the hall, that the windows were broken and everything was destroyed, but I had not imagined that it would reach this degree», he tells the Sul Informação.
In the beauty salon, which he has been operating for eight years, “everything has been ruined”.
«From electrical things, to furniture, to the walls inside the cabinet», laments Halyna.
Despite the regrets, the businesswoman guarantees that she will not «stand idly by». «Christmas and New Year's Eve are coming, strong times... I just hope it doesn't rain anymore», she says.
Alexandre also promises to “try to solve everything”.
«I have 19 employees, the responsibility is great. We've come from two years of the pandemic, now this and I don't know how much longer I'm going to be stopped. Insurance, let's see what they cover or not, but it is an extremely complicated scenario», he concludes.
Rain is expected to continue into at least Monday afternoon. The Algarve is, moreover, under orange warning from the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere.
Photos: Pedro Lemos | Sul Informação
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