It is still impossible to measure all the damage from the tornado, says minister
The Minister of Integration and Regional Development, Waldez Góes, said this Sunday (9) that it is not yet possible to measure all the damage caused by the tornado in the city of Rio Bonito do Iguaçu (PR), the most affected, and in at least 11 other cities in the central-south region of Paraná.
The federal government team visited urban and rural areas today to assess the extent of the disaster. He said that now is the time for solidarity and action to help people and reestablish public and private services to rebuild what was destroyed.
City destroyed by tornado in Paraná prioritizes donations of construction materials
The scenario is described as one of almost complete destruction: the municipality estimates that 90% of the urban area was affected and that around 700 houses were damaged
Paraná estimates aid of R$50,000 per family with homes destroyed after tornado
Government sent a bill to the Legislative Assembly proposing changes to the State Fund for Public Disasters (Fecap)
“It is necessary to support families who are in need of health assistance, food and shelter,” said the minister.
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According to Civil Defense, 90% of the urban area of Rio Bonito do Iguaçu suffered infrastructure damage. The tornado left six people dead, five in Rio Bonito do Iguaçu and one in Guarapuava, also in the center-south of the state.
Emergencies
Although the full extent of the disaster is not yet known, the minister defended the need to allocate emergency infrastructure resources to resume essential services.
“My team, from yesterday to today, was able to measure, for example, the need for at least R$15 million to build a new school and a gymnasium.”
He said that federal government teams are doing work in the field to assess the number of houses that were destroyed, as well as other private and public assets that will need reconstruction.
According to Góes, the government’s guidance is that city halls should request emergency resources as soon as possible and not just after a full assessment of the destruction has been carried out. “If there is information about a school that was destroyed and there is already a budget for the built area that needs to be created, it is now possible to commit this resource.”
The minister also called for union of the three spheres of government (Union, State and municipalities) to speed up meeting people’s needs. “We have no problem receiving any demand.”
“Whatever is necessary to rebuild the city of Rio Bonito do Iguaçu and other affected cities, President Lula is ordering me and other fellow ministers to do so”, added the minister.
Support
According to the Ministry, the director of information technology at the National Social Security Institute (INSS), Lea Bressy Amorim, is in the city to evaluate the possibility of advancing payments and other assistance.
Another immediate action by the government was the mobilization of a team from the SUS National Force consisting of a public health doctor, nurse, logistics resource analyst, incident and assistance reconstruction analyst and specialist in mental health in disasters.
In relation to electrical energy, the company responsible for energy distribution in Paraná (Copel), reported that it had reestablished 49% of the electrical energy distribution network in Rio Bonito do Iguaçu.
The governor of Paraná, Ratinho Junior, declared a state of calamity in Rio Bonito do Iguaçu. The decision allows the local government to carry out emergency spending without normal budget restrictions, in addition to facilitating access to federal funds.
