President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that it is necessary to “try to convince” residents of regions hit by floods that it is not possible to build new houses in the same places. This Sunday (9), Lula flew over flooded areas in the region of Trizidela do Vale and Pedreira and visited a shelter in Bacabal, municipalities in Maranhão that are affected by heavy rains.
“The Minister of Cities is here [Jader Filho] listening to me. In projects for the construction of new houses, we need to convince people that it is not possible to build a house in a place that we know will flood”, said Lula, in a press conference alongside ministers and the governor of Maranhão, Carlos Brandão, at Bacabal Regional Airport.
The visit was also accompanied by the ministers of Justice and Public Security, Flávio Dino; and the Minister of the Communication Secretariat, Paulo Pimenta; in addition to parliamentarians from Maranhão and mayors of affected cities.
“In 2009 I came here in Bacabal during a flood, Roseana [Sarney] she was governor and I was here on the same river, in the same flood. It is a demonstration that when we live close to the river there is no way out, it will flood when the rain is too much”, added the president.
Lula travels to China next Tuesday (11th), but said that he could not go to another country without visiting the states that are suffering with the floods. He also mentioned Ceará, where 19 municipalities declared an emergency situation and one declared a public calamity.
“I came to make that comfort visit to people who are in need. I’ve lived in neighborhoods that filled with water and it wasn’t little. And we were disputing space with cockroaches and rats and the rain would go away and we had to keep removing mud with a leech on our shins. I know what these people go through, leaving their homes, their furniture, sometimes they don’t have time to take them out, they lose everything they have, they lose a refrigerator, stove, bed, mattress”, lamented Lula.
In Maranhão, more than 7,500 families are homeless and 35,000 affected by floods in the 64 municipalities of the state in emergency situation. Of this total, the federal government ratified 53.
With the recognition of the emergency situation or public calamity, which is a more serious case, the affected municipalities can receive federal funds through the Ministry of Integration and Regional Development.
Last week, an emergency decree by the Ministry of Integration and Regional Development transferred the amount of R$ 3.8 million to aid municipalities. To date, the Federal Government has approved more than R$12 million in aid. Lula commented that all assistance has helped the families.
“People ask for a mattress, people ask for gas cylinders, people ask for anything to give them a certain amount of comfort, something that the government can do. This junction between the federal government, state government and municipal governments is mandatory”, said the president.
Because of the rains, the Trizidela city hall anticipated the students’ holidays from July to April, since five schools are flooded and another seven serve as shelters. According to Bacabal City Hall, families in the region begin to be affected when the Mearim River, which crosses the region, exceeds the level of 6 meters above normal. That weekend, the river exceeded 8.3 meters above normal level.
The city of Buriticupu in Maranhão also declared a state of public calamity. 395 kilometers from São Luís and with around 72,000 inhabitants, the municipality is ravaged by gullies, a geological phenomenon that creates giant craters. According to Maranhão authorities, some cracks measure 600 meters long and 70 meters deep.
The federal government still works, together with civil defense teams, in humanitarian aid to families, with the distribution of water, food baskets, mattresses and hygiene material.
Since March, six deaths have been reported because of heavy rains and entire communities are isolated. Throughout the state, nine rivers, in addition to streams and dams, overflowed.
Lula also stated that it is the obligation of government officials to act together in these situations. “It is not possible for this country to succeed if it does not have a combination between mayors, between governors and between the president of the Republic”, he said, and concluded “it is a moral, political and ethical obligation to take care of these people who suffer and who need us”.
Alert
Firefighters and Civil Defense also toured communities along the Itapecuru River, which crosses the state, to alert residents of the region. The river level rose in several cities, reaching the flood level since the beginning of the month, as is the case of Itapecuru Mirim, Cantanhede and Codó. According to the Geological Survey of Brazil, the water level in the city of Itapecuru Mirim exceeded 15 meters above the normal level last week.
