The first tests of the warning system against disasters caused by climate events – Civil Defense Alert – were carried out this Saturday (10), at the National Center for Risk and Disaster Management (Cenad), in Brasília. Eleven messages were transmitted – every five minutes – to different cities in seven states.
The message, with the text “Emergency alert: extreme – Civil Defense: Demonstration of the new emergency alert system in Muçum/RS. For more information, see the Civil Defense Alert website”, was the first one sent to the municipality, at 3 pm.
The cities of Roca Sales (RS), Blumenau (SC), Gaspar (SC), Morretes (PR), União da Vitória (PR), São Sebastião (SP), Angra dos Reis (RJ), Petropolis (RJ), Indianópolis (MG) and Cachoeiro do Itapemirim (ES) also participated in the tests.
According to the Minister of Integration and Regional Development, Waldez Góes, the tool will boost public authorities’ actions and prepare society to deal with the culture of risk.
The tests will be carried out for another 30 days, until the preparation and qualification phase begins in all Brazilian municipalities. “This alert system, in the preparation phase, will be crucial to saving people’s lives and assets,” said Góes.
Classification
The alerts will have two classifications: extreme, for immediate urgency, and severe, for expected urgency. The messages will communicate natural or man-made disasters, as established by the Brazilian Disaster Classification and Coding (Cobrade). They will also provide guidance to the population on how to protect themselves.
The population will receive the alerts automatically, without the need for any registration, through any cell phone with 4G or 5G technology. The messages will appear on the screen even if the cell phone is silent and will be superimposed on other accessed content.
According to the Minister-in-Chief of the Extraordinary Secretariat for Supporting the Reconstruction of Rio Grande do Sul, Paulo Pimenta, the new tool will complement other actions that are still necessary, such as contingency plans and training the population for crisis situations. “There is no point in citizens receiving an alert and not knowing what to do or where to evacuate to, so this is a contingency plan that each city will develop,” he concluded.
