Institute of Meteorology and Civil Defense of RS, PR, SC and MT participated; Gaucho government says that warnings “were passed on to the competent bodies”
O Cemaden (National Center for Monitoring and Alerts of Natural Disasters) held a meeting on August 31st with the Inmet (National Institute of Meteorology) and the Civil Defense of Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, Santa Catarina and Mato Grosso do Sul to deal with the then potential disaster in the region. The information was confirmed to the Power360 by the agency’s climatologist José Marengo.
According to the expert, another meeting was also held 1 day earlier, on August 30th, in which the Cenad (National Center for Risk and Disaster Management) announced, in writing, a risk situation in the region. Afterwards, meetings became daily.
“Inmet came in with rain forecasts. Cemaden does not forecast rain, it warns of the risk of disaster, in this case, flooding. The information in Cemaden’s prior notices is true. That’s the job, that’s the way we do it. Our role is not to issue alerts directly to the population”he said.
Marengo stated that, based on the alerts issued to Cenad and the Sedec (National Secretariat for Civil Protection and Defense), it is the latter’s role to pass on the notice to the municipal secretariats. It is up to cities to take measures, such as removing the population from risky locations. “Cemaden works with disaster risk reduction, issuing alerts to save lives”he said.
In a note sent to Power360the government of Rio Grande do Sul stated that “all preventive disaster information is received, processed and forwarded by the state Civil Defense system”.
According to the state administration, the State Situation Room has produced 20 bulletins, 3 hydrometeorological warnings and 19 alerts for the population since August 28th. Furthermore, it reported that on September 4, Cemaden issued 48 alerts from 0:12 am to 5:45 am, of moderate or high risk, for different regions. “Alerts that were passed on to the competent bodies”he said.
“The government of the State of Rio Grande do Sul reinforces that all these systems seek to serve the Rio Grande do Sul community with the aim of avoiding and minimizing damage caused by extreme weather events and guarantees that it is constantly searching for improvements to provide greater predictability to the population ”stated the state Executive.
Also on September 4, the Ceran (Rio das Antas Energy Complex) reported that the flow of the Antas River, located in one of the affected regions of the State, was at the highest levels since the construction of the plants due to heavy rains and asked “maximum care”.
“We reinforce our commitment to the safety of our employees and the surrounding communities. In view of the above, we ask the population to be extremely careful in areas close to the river and pay attention to the situation.”, he said. Here’s the full of the statement (PDF – 256 kB).
O Power360 looked for the Ministry of Integration and Regional Development and the government of the States of Paraná, Santa Catarina and Mato Grosso do Sul this Sunday (September 10) to question whether there was a meeting informed by Cemaden, the receipt of prior notices and what measures were taken by the Federation units after the risk alerts issued by agencies.
Contacts were made via email and messages via WhatsApp. Until the publication of this report, no response had been received. The space remains open for demonstrations.
RAINS IN THE SOUTH
This Sunday (September 10), the number of deaths rose to 43 due to the intense rains that hit cities in Rio Grande do Sul. The State Civil Defense Bulletin released at 7am recorded one death in the municipality of Cruzeiro do Sul. In Santa Catarina, a death was recorded in the city of Jupiá.
The number of missing people in RS remains at 46: 30 from Muçum, 8 from Lajeado and 8 from Arroio do Meio. The State has 150,341 people affected, 11,642 homeless (who have left their homes, but are sheltering with friends or family) and 3,798 homeless (who are in public or private shelters).
Read the full note from the Government of RS below:
“The government of Rio Grande do Sul reiterates that all preventive disaster information is received, processed and forwarded by the state Civil Defense system.
“The SGB, Geological Survey of Brazil – formerly called CPRM – carries out a survey of vulnerable areas for landslides, according to geological classification and capacity to resist severe weather events. In Rio Grande do Sul, the SGB has already mapped risk areas in 59 municipalities.
“Based on these data, Cemaden, the National Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Alerts, linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications, monitors municipalities in all Brazilian regions.
“The alerts issued by Cemaden are forwarded to the state Civil Defenses, which, in turn, are passed on to the municipal ones. On the fourth of September, Cemaden issued 48 alerts between 12:12 am and 5:45 am, of moderate or high risk, for different regions of Rio Grande do Sul. Alerts that were passed on to the competent bodies.
“In addition, Rio Grande do Sul has a Situation Room, which provides hydrometeorological monitoring services and works in conjunction with the Civil Defense and the Secretariat for the Environment and State Infrastructure. The Situation Room team works 24/7 and is made up of meteorologists and hydrologists.
“Climatempo is the company that operates the Rio Grande do Sul Situation Room, through bidding. The situation rooms were created by the National Water Agency (ANA), which maintains cooperation agreements with all States, for the transfer of resources, equipment and operating technologies. In Rio Grande do Sul, the cooperation agreement is through the Secretariat of the Environment and Infrastructure (Sema).
“Various technologies are used to monitor and analyze information obtained through radars, satellites and meteorological stations, providing adequate monitoring of rainfall conditions, river levels and wind incidence in Rio Grande do Sul. When conditions are identified that offer risk, alerts are prepared, taking into account the severity of each adverse event.
“Thus, the Situation Room sends the risk information to the Civil Defense Operations Center (Codec), which issues the alert to people registered in 40199. The alerts are also published on the State Civil Defense website, as well as on social networks institutions and through the nine Regional Civil Protection and Defense Coordinators.
“Since August 28, 2023, the Situation Room has produced and sent 20 bulletins, three hydrometeorological warnings and 19 alerts that generated messages via SMS to the population.
“The Government of the State of Rio Grande do Sul reinforces that all these systems seek to serve the Rio Grande do Sul community with the aim of avoiding and minimizing damage caused by extreme weather events and guarantees that it is constantly searching for improvements to provide greater predictability to the population .”
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