President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira; from the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco; and the Federal Audit Court (TCU), Bruno Dantas, landed at the Canoas Air Base (RS) this Sunday (5). They will monitor rescue and assistance operations for flood victims in Rio Grande do Sul.
The state governor, Eduardo Leite, received the delegation, also made up of 13 ministers, by the Army commander, General Tomás Paiva; by Minister of the Federal Supreme Court Edson Fachin; and by First Lady Janja Lula da Silva.
“We arrived in Rio Grande do Sul to strengthen the work to support the people of Rio Grande do Sul that has been carried out by the federal, state and city governments,” Lula posted on social media, accompanied by a video in which he speaks with the governor after getting off the plane.
The ministers who disembarked with Lula are the following: Rui Costa (Casa Civil), José Mucio (Defense), Fernando Haddad (Finance), Renan Filho (Transport), Silvio Costa Filho (Ports and Airports), Camilo Santana (Education), Nísia Trindade (Health), Luiz Marinho (Work and Employment), Wellington Dias (Social Development and Fight against Hunger), Marina Silva (Environment and Climate Change), Jader Filho (Cities), Márcio Macêdo (General Secretariat) and Alexandre Padilha (Institutional Relations Secretariat).
Soon after leaving the air base, Lula, Lira, Pacheco and Leite flew in a helicopter over the center of Porto Alegre. In a video posted on Lula’s social networks, governor Eduardo Leite shows the surroundings of the municipal market in the capital of Rio Grande do Sul covered by water.
The delegation will join ministers Paulo Pimenta (Secretariat of Social Communication) and Waldez Góes (Integration and Regional Development), who are already in the state and closely follow the federal government’s relief and assistance actions to the population of Rio Grande do Sul.
Balance
The Ministry of Defense updated the balance of relief and assistance operations this morning. According to the ministry, the military rescued isolated people in 11 municipalities: Lajeado, Encantado, Taquari, Estrela, Nova Santa Rita, Montenegro, Sinimbu, Canoas, Bento Gonçalves, Campo Bom and São Sebastião do Caí.
In four other cities – São Gabriel, Bagé, Alegrete and Cristal – operations were carried out to support the restructuring of destroyed properties and the relocation of homeless people.
In Candelária and São Valentim do Sul, the military cleared lanes. In Restinga Seca, they worked on launching a bridge and restoring access. In Porto Alegre and Cachoeira do Sul, they supported the organization and distribution of donations to the homeless.
According to the Ministry of Defense, 9,749 rescues were carried out in recent days, of which 402 were aerial, 2,340 were river rescues and 7,007 were land rescues. And 69 people were rescued using aircraft with medical equipment. According to the ministry, 647 military personnel from the Armed Forces are involved in the operations: 426 from the Army, 155 from the Navy and 66 from the Brazilian Air Force (FAB).
FAB also released an updated balance sheet. In the early hours of this Sunday, the KC-390 Millennium aircraft transported more than 18 tons of materials from the Campaign Logistics Support Group (GALC) from the Galeão Air Base, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ) to the Canoas Air Base (RS). ).
The plane transported generators, chemical toilets, operational tents, mattresses, electrical and hydraulic support materials. According to FAB, the material will support food, accommodation, hygiene (bath and toilets) and maintenance of assistance to the population of Rio Grande do Sul.
The aircraft also transported 14 GALC soldiers, who will assemble the structure in Canoas. The purpose of this team’s activities is to logistically support operations during a public calamity.
Federal Highway Police
The Federal Highway Police (PRF) announced the reinforcement of 75 agents in operations, in addition to the 99 who are working in the region hit by strong storms in recent days.
According to the corporation, the staff faces extreme difficulty in moving because of the blocked points due to the rains of the last few days. With 20 vehicles and three aircraft used in the operation, the PRF carried out 150 land rescues and rescued, by air, 54 people and three animals.
