Minister of Regional Integration confirmed that there was a meeting between the National Civil Defense and the State to deal with the matter
The Minister of Development and Regional Integration, Waldez Goessaid this Tuesday (21.Feb.2023) that the Government of São Paulo was warned on Thursday (16.feb) about the heavy rains that hit the north coast of the State between Saturday (18.feb) and Sunday (19.feb). “In this specific case, we were all alerted”he stated.
According to Góes, a meeting was scheduled with the Civil Defense after monitoring the Scened (National Center for Risk and Disaster Management) and the Cemaden (National Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Alerts).
“So, with the monitoring of the north coast indicating this possibility of very heavy rains, on Thursday [16.fev]the National Civil Defense met with the State Civil Defense of São Paulo, Rio and Minas Gerais to align alerts and communication”said in an interview with GloboNews.
The minister said that the municipal governments and the Government of São Paulo have taken measures to avoid the impacts of the disasters. Waldez Góes stated that he spoke with the governor of the State, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), who confirmed that there was a warning of the risks of heavy rains via different means of communication, such as radios and television.
“The commander of the São Paulo Fire Department himself made many incursions on radios, television, WhatsApp, SMS. But, in truth, we all always think that it won’t be a problem of the size that will be announced, if it happens, it won’t be with us […] We are rooting for the possibilities of disaster not to be confirmed. What happened? Disaster happened”declared Goes.
However, the Minister of Regional Integration stated that the State and Municipal Civil Defenses received the information “so that provision, to an infinitely greater degree than has been taken, might actually have been provided, to prevent people, besides those already living there, from had gone in droves (to the north coast of SP)“.
RAIN ON THE COAST OF SP
The heavy rains recorded on the coast of São Paulo left at least 47 dead until the afternoon of Tuesday (21.Feb.2023). The state government reported that there are 1,730 displaced people (who are in public or private shelters) and 766 displaced people (who have left their homes, but are sheltering with friends or family).
The municipality of São Sebastião is one of the hardest hit. the federal government already recognized summarily the request for a state of emergency.
The governor of São Paulo flew over the region with the mayor of São Sebastião, Felipe Augusto (PSDB). Aircraft support was announced for to help transporting firefighters to isolated areas because of the rains.
The president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) was in the municipality of São Sebastião on Monday (20.Feb) and also flew over the affected areas by helicopter before the meeting to announce measures to minimize the destruction caused by the rains on the coast of São Paulo. He was accompanied by the ministers:
France announced that the Port of Santos released R$ 2 million at the request of President Lula. The money will be distributed to affected municipalities and to the state government to help victims of the rains.
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