After the low water levels in Canoas, in Rio Grande do Sul, Civil Defense teams and technicians from the Department of Urban Development and Housing are responding to requests from residents for structural inspections of properties affected by the floods.
Civil Defense technicians from other Brazilian cities — including Niterói (RJ), São Luís (MA) and Campinas (SP) — also help with the technical assessment of residences. Also contributing to the work are members of the non-governmental organization (NGO) HelpNgo, from Guatemala.
In the Mathias Velho neighborhood, resident Stephanie Silva Salles opened the doors of her father’s house for a team to carry out the technical assessment. “My father is already elderly. He is stubborn and wants to come back here anyway. I said I couldn’t do that without first contacting Civil Defense for an inspection,” she said.
The architect and coordinator of Niterói Civil Defense, Paula Guimarães, explained the procedure adopted during visits to the applicants’ addresses. “The entire property is inspected and we advise those responsible about the real situation of the houses. In some cases, a ban is necessary, making it impossible for residents to return. In other situations we just provide guidance. We always leave Civil Defense at your disposal. In general, we are being well received by the population,” she said.
A task force, with the support of the secretariat, uses drones to georeference the regions. “With inspections and the use of georeferencing technologies, we were able to identify residences that can be occupied again or that need to be closed because they present risks”, stated the chief secretary of the Canoas Climate Resilience and Civil Defense Office (Eclima), José Fortunati.
The reports are also useful for adhering to future public policy programs that may be announced by the state and federal governments.
The inspection request can be requested by calling (51) 3476 3400 from the Civil Defense of Canoas.
Source: CNN Brasil
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