Only a third of Brazilian cities classified as critical for floods have a risk warning system for this type of event, such as alarms and sirens. In these municipalities, occurrences of flooding and flooding are more frequent, as well as records of homeless and displaced persons. Even so, warnings for the population at risk are precarious.
The data, reported in 2020, are from a survey carried out by the National Sanitation Information System, of the Ministry of Regional Development (MDR). Among 966 critical municipalities, 34.9% (337) said they had warning systems for hydrological risks, including Petrópolis, in the mountainous region of Rio, where a historic storm left more than 100 dead.
Authorities said the sirens had helped reduce the number of casualties. On the other hand, as the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo showed, the city has sirens for evacuation only in two of the five districts of Petrópolis.
Of the 22,200 floods and inundations in 2020, 14,200 were in 463 critical municipalities. About 80% of those homeless or displaced after rains and floods were in these most at-risk cities. Of the 4,107 cities in the database, 620 have an alert system (which includes municipalities considered to be at lower risk).
According to the MDR, having or not warning systems does not allow to say if the drainage services are satisfactory or not. “On the other hand, it is important that all municipalities that have their areas classified as at risk map them, with a view to implementing measures to prevent and mitigate the risks arising from hydrological events.”
The folder states that the federal government works, through the Program for the Prevention and Response to Natural Disasters, to reinforce state and municipal civil defense agencies, prevent disasters, rehabilitate areas affected by natural disasters, such as drought, landslides and hail, and other causes, such as collapsed buildings and fires
When triggered, the warning systems activate warning mechanisms to the population, which must be previously trained to react to the disaster. For this, information technologies via SMS, sound equipment, sirens and radio communication can be used.
Ideally, once warned, at-risk area residents can leave their homes, take a safe escape route, and proceed to government-appointed shelters. A difference of minutes in the escape makes a difference to prevent them from being buried.
In Nova Lima, in Greater Belo Horizonte, the storm left about 4,000 homeless in January, after the heaviest rainfall for the time in 30 years. There is no hazard warning and alarm system there. The city government says it is working to create a climate monitoring network, but deadlines are not set. “It is not yet possible to predict the order of investment or the implementation period, since the planning is in the study and diagnosis phase”.
The city government also claims to have monitoring in the field and to count on the support of the state Civil Defense and neighboring cities. When possible, use social media posts, sound cars and WhatsApp messages.
In Francisco Morato, in Greater São Paulo, four people have already died in this rainy season. Close to Serra da Cantareira, the site gathers families who built houses on hillside areas, which slide if there is heavy rainfall. The city still doesn’t have the system. “The municipality intends to install an automatic warning system. A study is being carried out to make the equipment viable,” he said.
For now, the city government says it sends text messages with weather alerts from the Civil Defense to registered phones and a weather report via WhatsApp for traders and the community. Rainfall monitoring is carried out by federal and state agencies.
mapping
In addition to warning systems, the National Policy for Civil Defense and Protection defines the mapping of urban areas at risk of flooding as one of the prevention instruments. But only 32% of the 4,107 municipalities that declare their data to the ministry have this information – most of them in the Southeast and South.
Coverage does not even reach all 27 capitals; four of them do not. The information is from the newspaper. The State of São Paulo.
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