G20 Radio Bulletin 100 - With floods in Brazil, President Lula warns of climate crisis

Brazilian President coordinates efforts to support flood victims in Rio Grande do Sul, highlights integration between powers and the urgency of tackling climate change. Listen to the report to learn more.

Reporter: Brasil's Federal Government has been playing a crucial role in helping the state of Rio Grande do Sul after it was hit heavily by the rains. Over 15,000 professionals have been mobilized in various parts of the state. The Armed Forces are part of the operations, carrying out rescues by air and on land, conducting evacuations, and transporting food and supplies. These actions reflect the urgency of tackling climate challenges, one of the Brazilian government's main agendas during its G20 Presidency.

In the midst of the rescue operations, the Federal Government has focused on providing a coordinated and effective response to guarantee food security and social assistance measures for the affected population. Actions are being coordinated from a monitoring office set up in the state's capital.

According to Civil Defense, 380 municipalities have been affected, with the greatest impact in the capital Porto Alegre and municipalities in the Metropolitan Region. So far, almost 50,000 people have been rescued. Logistics are mobilizing aircraft, boats, police cars and engineering equipment. More than 45,000 people are in shelters and over 130,000 have lost their homes.

The National Secretariat for Food and Nutrition Security has committed almost 9 million reais so far to send 52,000 food hampers to Rio Grande do Sul through Conab, the National Supply Company. The Ministry of Social Development and Fight against Hunger will invest 807 million reais to anticipate payments to 621,000 Bolsa Família beneficiaries.

Health professionals from the National Force of the Unified Health System have been sent to the state, and a network of public and private hospitals is also being mobilized to organize and integrate actions and priorities. A field hospital has been set up and is already operating in the municipality of Estrela, in the Taquari Valley, one of the affected regions.

An agenda in Porto Alegre between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the presidents of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco; the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira; and the Federal Court of Auditors, Bruno Dantas; as well as Minister Edson Fachin, of the Federal Supreme Court, and 13 government ministers, symbolized national unity in providing aid for the people of Rio Grande do Sul. Lula underscored the necessity of proactive planning to mitigate potential climate-related crises in the future.

Lula: Bureaucracy will not stand in the way of us recovering the greatness of this state.

Reporter: Cooperation between the Three Powers allows for a comprehensive and integrated response to the needs of the population affected by the floods, ensuring the rapid mobilization of resources and the implementation of the necessary aid measures. In a meeting last week at the Santa Maria Air Base, a city also affected by the floods in the Southern state, President Lula highlighted the importance of acknowledging nature's signals, warning about the significant losses that can occur when it acts unexpectedly. 

Lula: Nature is expressing itself, and we need to take this very seriously, because when nature rebels, we know that the losses are huge.

President Lula has submitted a legislative decree project to Congress to recognize the state of public calamity in part of the national territory, particularly in Rio Grande do Sul, due to the climate disaster.