Operation Tucumã: Armed Forces concluded 30 days of humanitarian support and firefighting in the Legal Amazon

Brasilia, October 17, 2024 – On Thursday (17), Brazil’s Armed Forces concluded 30 days of actions to combat wildfires and drought in the Legal Amazon. Coordinated by the Ministry of Defense (Ministério da Defesa), Operation Tucumã (Operação Tucumã) counts on the support of around 300 military personnel daily. At peak times, this number reaches over 500 military personnel. To date, around 260 thousand liters of water have been released on fires by the Brazilian Air Force's (Força Aérea Brasileira) KC-390 aircraft.

In northern Brazil, the Navy, Army, and Air Force support government efforts to combat fires and use military logistics to provide humanitarian aid — distributing food hampers, water, and water treatment kits. The military recently distributed 670 hampers and transported 40 tons of water gallons. They also transported approximately 10 tons of donations, using four aircraft, six boats, and 29 vehicles to help Indigenous peoples and Amazon communities affected by the drought.

Image: Disclosure / Ministry of Defense.

Operation Tucumã is part of an intergovernmental mobilization in partnership with the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade/ICMBio), responsible for providing supplies for distribution and the Management and Operational Center of the Amazon Protection System (Centro Gestor e Operacional do Sistema de Proteção da Amazônia/Censipam) — an agency linked to the Ministry of Defense which offers support by providing remote sensing images and the Fire Panel (Painel do Fogo). The Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis/IBAMA) and the Ministry of Health (Ministério da Saúde) are also participating in the actions.

Image: Disclosure / Ministry of Defense.

OPERAÇÃO TUCUMÃ – Published on September 17, the activation of the joint command in the Legal Amazon guarantees support in actions to combat fire and drought.

Find out more:
Defense launches joint command to support combating fire and drought in the Legal Amazon (available in Portuguese)

By Beatriz Vasconcelos, with supervision by Jussara Santos
Images: Disclosure

Social Communications Office (Ascom)

Ministry of Defense

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