Mayor Francisco Azcué led a working meeting this Thursday with the agencies that make up the Emergency Operations Committee (COE) of Concordia to continue coordinating actions regarding the effects of the “El Niño” phenomenon in the city and the resulting rise of the Uruguay River.
Monitoring and forecasts are permanently analyzed based on information provided by the Hydrology area of the Mixed Technical Commission of Salto Grande. Based on this, and through the simulation software for possible scenarios developed by the Argentine Army, plus the data provided by the Spatial Data area of the Municipality, actions are carried out. An example of this are the preventive evacuations carried out last Wednesday.
“The information we collect daily allows us to articulate tasks such as evacuations and the relocation of people, as well as other issues related to the flooding. For this, we have an Operations Committee that is prepared, and this new meeting was to continue coordinating these actions, beyond the daily contact we have,” pointed out Mayor Azcué.
In that sense, he maintained that “as the river rises, the scenarios change. The information provided by CTM indicates that next week it could reach 12.50 meters. Today we already know how many people would be affected, where they live, how many members each family has, conditions, and care needs. We are not dealing with numbers, we are talking about people,” remarked Azcué.
SURVEY
Through the Territorial Approach team, potential affected individuals are being visited to have a prior survey and the information needed before the evacuation, which will always be done on dry land. “This allows us to know where they need to be moved, whether to an evacuation center or a relative's house. Having that predictability is fundamental; we work that way and as soon as we have that information, we act.”
Regarding the forecasts, Azcué indicated that “we are guided by what the professionals tell us. We are currently in the active phase of El Niño, which is not only the rising of the river but was also the storm in July or last night's storm. The forecast we have now indicates that next week we would have the river at 12.50 meters,” he reiterated.
Finally, he requested the community to stay informed through the official channels of the Municipality or CTM and recommended that everyone, in their home, wherever they live, take the necessary precautions to avoid major effects during days of intense rainfall or storms.
PREDICTABILITY AND 105
For his part, the Secretary of Health and coordinator of the COE, Diego Sauré, pointed out that according to “the data we discussed today for next week, we are talking about reaching approximately 400 evacuees,” which is why “we consider it very important to handle official information because it is precise and allows us to act in advance.”
In addition, Sauré ratified that the communication line enabled to receive requests for assistance due to the flooding is 105. “A significant investment has been made to have greater reception capacity and avoid collapses, and in the event that someone calls the Fire Department or the Police, these institutions communicate with us and the protocols are activated. Each transfer will be recorded.”
“El Niño is not only the rising of the river; it was the recent storms, and we will surely have phenomena of this type in the coming months. There is work prepared to be as efficient as possible in each scenario because what matters most here is assistance to the population, and that is what we are preparing for. Hopefully, and it is everyone's wish, it will be as mild as possible,” highlighted Sauré.
Monitoring and forecasts are permanently analyzed based on information provided by the Hydrology area of the Mixed Technical Commission of Salto Grande. Based on this, and through the simulation software for possible scenarios developed by the Argentine Army, plus the data provided by the Spatial Data area of the Municipality, actions are carried out. An example of this are the preventive evacuations carried out last Wednesday.
“The information we collect daily allows us to articulate tasks such as evacuations and the relocation of people, as well as other issues related to the flooding. For this, we have an Operations Committee that is prepared, and this new meeting was to continue coordinating these actions, beyond the daily contact we have,” pointed out Mayor Azcué.
In that sense, he maintained that “as the river rises, the scenarios change. The information provided by CTM indicates that next week it could reach 12.50 meters. Today we already know how many people would be affected, where they live, how many members each family has, conditions, and care needs. We are not dealing with numbers, we are talking about people,” remarked Azcué.
SURVEY
Through the Territorial Approach team, potential affected individuals are being visited to have a prior survey and the information needed before the evacuation, which will always be done on dry land. “This allows us to know where they need to be moved, whether to an evacuation center or a relative's house. Having that predictability is fundamental; we work that way and as soon as we have that information, we act.”
Regarding the forecasts, Azcué indicated that “we are guided by what the professionals tell us. We are currently in the active phase of El Niño, which is not only the rising of the river but was also the storm in July or last night's storm. The forecast we have now indicates that next week we would have the river at 12.50 meters,” he reiterated.
Finally, he requested the community to stay informed through the official channels of the Municipality or CTM and recommended that everyone, in their home, wherever they live, take the necessary precautions to avoid major effects during days of intense rainfall or storms.
PREDICTABILITY AND 105
For his part, the Secretary of Health and coordinator of the COE, Diego Sauré, pointed out that according to “the data we discussed today for next week, we are talking about reaching approximately 400 evacuees,” which is why “we consider it very important to handle official information because it is precise and allows us to act in advance.”
In addition, Sauré ratified that the communication line enabled to receive requests for assistance due to the flooding is 105. “A significant investment has been made to have greater reception capacity and avoid collapses, and in the event that someone calls the Fire Department or the Police, these institutions communicate with us and the protocols are activated. Each transfer will be recorded.”
“El Niño is not only the rising of the river; it was the recent storms, and we will surely have phenomena of this type in the coming months. There is work prepared to be as efficient as possible in each scenario because what matters most here is assistance to the population, and that is what we are preparing for. Hopefully, and it is everyone's wish, it will be as mild as possible,” highlighted Sauré.