Two days before the heavy rains that hit Petrópolis, in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro, causing the death of more than 120 people and destroying much of the city, an alert of “very intense meteorological event” was issued by the National Center for Monitoring and Warning of Natural Disasters (Cemaden).
In an interview with CNN This Friday (18), the director of the agency, Osvaldo Moraes, said that the warning was sent to the National Center for Risk and Disaster Management (Cenad), which, in turn, alerted the National Secretariat for Civil Protection and Defense, which is linked to the Ministry of Regional Development.
“Cemaden issues the alert to the national Civil Defense, which then communicates with the state and municipal Civil Defenses”, explained Moraes.
The expert also clarified that “it was not possible, as it would not be possible, to detect the exact moment that the event would happen nor the location of that event”. However, according to him, “not even the most advanced countries in the world in monitoring and research would have predicted this event with the certainty of detail necessary to avoid this tragedy”.
According to Moraes, the Petrópolis tragedy happened as a result of two factors: a threat from nature and a social threat. He considers that although the country has advanced considerably in terms of monitoring meteorological events, the vulnerability and exposure of people to risk areas is still intense.
“Today in Brazil we have more than 30,000 risk areas with more than 10 million people, generally of high social vulnerability, who are exposed. We need to consider this in order to prepare for events like those in Petrópolis”, she evaluated.
The specialist warned of the lack of adequate public policies in relation to urban planning, land use, housing leases and urban occupation so that people do not settle in risky areas. “Tragedy is a combination of several factors.”
Moraes also drew attention to the fact that “the entire mountain region of Rio de Janeiro remains exposed to extreme weather tests”. According to him, the forecast for this weekend continues to be heavy rains in the region.
“The alerts are open and remain at the same level of intensity. It is necessary to pay attention to this condition”, he warned.
Source: CNN Brasil
