After visit to Manaus, Marina Silva talks about possible decree of climate emergency

Gabriel Abreu – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – During a visit to Manaus, the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, said this Sunday, 26, that the Lula Government is studying to publish a decree of a State of Permanent Climate Emergency in the 1,038 municipalities most vulnerable to climate change, including the capital of Amazonas. In the capital, the minister was accompanied by the Minister of Integration and Regional Development, Waldez Góes.

The two arrived early Sunday afternoon and were received by the governor of Amazonas, Wilson Lima (União Brasil), and the mayor of Manaus, David Almeida (Avante). During the afternoon, the public authorities visited the areas affected by the rain that fell over the capital, in the early morning of Saturday, 25, and caused flooding and landslides in the Sharp Community, in the Armando Mendes neighborhood, and in the Pingo d’Água Community, located in the Jorge Teixeira neighborhood, both in the East Zone of Manaus.

According to Minister Marina Silva, the ministries of Regional Development and Environment are working together to solve the problems faced by the rains in more than a thousand municipalities in the country.

“We are going to work on the emergency actions, which are those that are already being taken, and the structuring actions, projects that the City Hall, the State Government and the Federal Government can work on together. An alternative that is being considered is to decree a permanent state of climate emergency in the 1,038 municipalities most vulnerable and susceptible to climate change,” said Marina Silva.

The governor of Amazonas, Wilson Lima, explained that the State is working together with the Manaus City Hall in the emergency services to the families affected by the storm last Saturday, 25th.

“We had a series of episodes, as you followed, many material losses, families who had their homes destroyed and some taken by water. A joint work of the Manaus Prefecture and the State Government gave emergency care to these families, to provide shelter, food, some products such as refrigerator, mattresses, to ease the suffering of these families”, said Wilson Lima.

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Saturday rain

According to the Municipal Secretariat for Public Safety and Social Defense (Semseg), more than 135 occurrences were registered in the 199 Central of Civil Defense, until 6:00 pm this Saturday, 25, being 62 of flooding, 25 of landslides and 22 of mudslides. The Municipal Secretariat of Education (Semed) has made two schools available to shelter 172 families who have lost their homes.

The families are being sheltered by teams from the Civil Defense and the Secretariat of Women, Social Assistance and Citizenship (Semasc), at the Aristóteles Comte de Alencar Municipal School, street 1, block 35, Armando Mendes district, East Zone. And by teams from Semed’s District Zonal Division (DDZ) East 1, at the Jorge de Resende Sobrinho Municipal School, on rua Nova Esperança, Tancredo Neves.

The most severe occurrences, so far, happened in the East Zone, in the neighborhoods Armando Mendes and Gilberto Mestrinho, but were also attended in the Community Manaus 2000, in Japiim neighborhood, where there was a collapse involving nine homes. Three teams on duty performed more than 70 consultations throughout the city, since the early hours of the day.