The Amazonas State Government, through the Amazonas Health Surveillance Foundation – Dr. Rosemary Costa Pinto and the State Health Secretariat, have launched the Contingency Plan for Health Surveillance Efforts for Drought in Amazonas, to guide municipalities in dealing with the situation this year. The document is available at https://abre.ai/gPbc.
The Amazonas state government and Amazonas Power Company have carried out strategic planning, as part of Operation Drought 2023, so that none of the municipalities in the state, which are not yet interconnected to the National Interconnected System (SIN), will be left without electricity supply during the drought.
The dredging will be carried out on the Solimões River and will be eight kilometers long, lasting up to 45 days and costing R$38 million. Another dredging to be carried out on the Madeira River will be 12 km long and cost R$100 million.
Small farmers, extractivists and fishermen with an income of up to 1.5 minimum wages, who have lost production because of the drought, will be paid a benefit of R$850. Fishermen will also be able to withdraw their Seguro Defeso (closed season insurance) funds in advance.
The renegotiation of debts and credits due was granted to producers who have financed with Afeam (Amazonas State Development Agency), in addition to the suspension of the collection process, interest on arrears, fines and also the denial of clients with credit restriction agencies.
The Amazonas Institute for Agricultural and Sustainable Forestry Development (IDAM) is advising family farmers to implement some emergency measures in order to mitigate agricultural losses.
With an investment of R$8.1 million from the federal government, around 1,103 producers from 56 cities affected by the drought in the state have benefited from the Food Acquisition Program. The produce purchased is being sent to previously registered socially vulnerable organizations.
The State Aid, paid by the Amazonas State Government on the 15th of each month, has been brought forward. The measure covers all those who receive the benefit.
The program serves students affected by the drought in the state. More than 2,200 students from the state school system have already received the program’s food kit in the affected municipalities
Municipalities that have declared a state of alert and emergency and have the Prato Cheio (Full Dish) Program have been exempted from the amount, benefiting more than 200,000 people.
The Amazonas State Government has sent 150 basic food basket goods, 100 20-liter jugs of water and 180 chickens, as well as 150 personal hygiene kits, to support homeless and at-risk families in the Arumã community, in the municipality of Beruri.
The work was coordinated by the Amazonas Civil Defense and the Amazonas Military Fire Brigade (CBMAM), which sent divers and specialists qualified to rescue people in collapsed areas.
The Department of Justice, Human Rights and Citizenship (Sejusc) mapped the families affected and provided referrals for issuing documents such as ID cards, CPFs and birth certificates. The State Secretariat for Social Assistance (SEAS) registered the families, provided psychological and psychosocial assistance, as well as visiting floating residents in the region.
Up to R$800 will be given by the federal government, in the form of Shelter Aid, to residents whose homes were destroyed in the community of Arumã, in Beruri.
The Amazonas State Government, through the Amazonas Sustainable Development Agency (ADS), has acquired around 1 ton of regional products. The food, purchased through the Family Acquisition PROGRAM (PAF), was destined for the families affected by the landslide in the Arumã community in Beruri.
The Amazonas Institute for Environmental Protection (IPAAM) has already imposed around R$17 million in fines in relation to illegal burn-offs in the southern areas of Amazonas and metropolitan Manaus.
There are more than 400 state agents, including firefighters, civil and military police officers, agents from the National Center for Preventing and Combating Forest Fires (Prevfogo), the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Natural Resources (Ibama), inspectors from the Amazonas Environmental Protection Institute (Ipaam), men from the National Force, as well as firefighters hired by the Secretariat for the Environment (Sema), working to combat deforestation and illegal fires in the state.
The Fire Department has set up a situation room to expand the monitoring of fires in the state, using the Fire Panel tools from the Amazon Protection System’s Management and Operational Center (Censipam) and Firms from the North American Space Agency (Nasa).
The Amazonas State Government has allocated R$1.1 million to pay for the work of 153 firefighters in nine municipalities, to reinforce the fight against fires in the interior of Amazonas. The project is a cooperation between the State Secretariat for the Environment and the Sustainable Amazon Foundation (FAS), with financial support from Rewild for the purchase of materials and equipment. The selected firefighters will work in municipalities in the south of the state, an area with the highest number of hotspots.
The Amazonas State Government has received the support of 23 more agents from the National Center for Preventing and Combating Forest Fires (Prevfogo), of the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Natural Resources (Ibama), to intensify the ongoing firefighting efforts of the Amazonas Military Fire Brigade (CBMAM).
The Amazonas State Government has received two aircraft from the Brazilian Navy to intensify the efforts already being made by the Amazonas Military Fire Brigade (CBMAM).