The National Civil Defense has recognized, in summary form, a state of public calamity in the six São Paulo municipalities most affected by the weekend’s rains. According to information from the Ministry of Integration and Regional Development, the municipalities in this situation are: São Sebastião, Caraguatatuba, Guarujá, Bertioga, Ilhabela and Ubatuba.
With the decision, it is possible to speed up measures to assist the affected population, restore essential services and rebuild the damaged public infrastructure. A National Civil Defense team has been in the region since yesterday (19) to develop work plans so that federal funds can be requested.
The idea is, at first, to release funds for basic food baskets, home cleaning, personal hygiene and bedroom kits, mattresses, hammocks, meals for work teams, mineral water, fuel and water truck rental and other vehicles.
According to the ministry, resources should also be released for cleaning streets, clearing drains, reestablishing roads and rebuilding bridges, drains, public buildings, housing units and other public infrastructure destroyed.
Minister Waldez Góes was today in São Sebastião, the city with the most victims, accompanied by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
“At this first moment, we are supporting the families whose lives were taken. We are already on site with a team from the Disaster Support Group (Gade), made up of specialists, to work in partnership with the municipal Civil Defense and manage to be more agile in responses, information and fact-finding,” he said. the minister, in a note published by the ministry.
Tragedy
The rains that fell on the north coast of São Paulo left at least 36 dead and around 40 missing in the city of São Sebastião and a child dead in the city of Ubatuba. In the entire region, according to the government of São Paulo, there are 970 displaced people and 747 homeless.
The rains caused landslides, flooding, blocked roads and affected the water and energy supply.
The Ministry of Health is sending kits with 25 medicines and 13 different supplies to populations in an emergency situation, which can serve around 4,500 people during a month.
“Once the victims have been assisted, we must deal with the recovery, with the reconstruction of cities. Be it a road that was interrupted, a bridge that fell, for example. We are going to guarantee, and this is President Lula’s commitment, the necessary resources so that the population and municipalities are served”, said the minister.
