Sumaré hosts RMC meeting on the impacts of Super El Niño

Sumaré hosted, this Monday (9), the 254th Ordinary Meeting of the Development Council of the Metropolitan Region of Campinas (RMC), with the participation of representatives from the 20 municipalities that make up the region. On the initiative of Mayor Henrique do Paraíso, the meeting's main agenda was the discussion of joint measures to prevent and confront floods, flooding and extreme weather events associated with the forecast intensification of the El Niño phenomenon.

The meeting was held at Clube Recreativo Sumaré and was attended by mayors, municipal representatives, Civil Defense teams, members of the São Paulo State Government, representatives of civil society and other public bodies.

During the meeting, Henrique do Paraíso presented two proposals for regional action: the creation of an emergency contingency plan for the rainy season and the elaboration of a medium and long-term infrastructure plan, with integrated drainage and flood prevention projects. The proposal is to join efforts between municipalities and forward demands to the state and federal governments.

The meeting in Sumaré was a result of a request from Mayor Henrique do Paraíso to the president of the RMC Development Council and mayor of Campinas, Dário Saadi. Concerned about the impacts of rain and the forecast of more intense weather events, Henrique proposed that the matter be discussed jointly by the region's municipalities.

The request was accepted by the Council, which included the topic on the agenda of the ordinary meeting and defined Sumaré as the venue for the meeting.

During the presentation, projections related to the El Niño phenomenon were discussed, characterized by the abnormal warming of surface waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The climate event may change rainfall patterns in different regions of Brazil, with the possibility of above-average rainfall in the South and Southeast areas, as well as dry periods in the North and Northeast.

Among the associated risks are storms, windstorms, hail, electrical discharges and other extreme events. The presentation also highlighted historical records of climate impacts in the country, such as the 2024 floods in Rio Grande do Sul and the great drought that hit the Northeast between 1877 and 1879.

On the first front presented, focused on prevention and emergency response during the rainy season, Henrique proposed the creation of a regional crisis committee, with a direct channel of communication between mayors and a situation room in permanent operation.

The plan also provides for integrated monitoring of river levels and rainfall levels, with the installation and use of sensors and rain gauges to identify flooding risks in advance, in addition to issuing warnings to the population and joint action by the municipalities' Civil Defense teams.

The proposal especially considers the cities crossed by the Ribeirão Quilombo, the Atibaia River, the Tijuco Preto and other watercourses that make up the Piracicaba River basin.

The second front includes medium and long-term structural actions. Among the suggested measures are the creation of a regional bank for executive drainage projects, implementation of detention reservoirs, construction of linear parks and desilting of rivers and streams.

Another point is the prioritization of works considering the river basins, and not just the territorial limits of each municipality. The intention is to include the projects in planning and budgeting instruments, such as the Budget Guidelines Laws (LDOs), and present them to the state and federal governments to make resources available.

When defending integration between cities, the mayor of Sumaré highlighted that problems related to flooding need to be faced regionally, as watercourses cross different municipalities.

"There is no point in a city doing its planning if the city before or after it doesn't do it. Water doesn't respect borders. One city depends on the other, and only together will we gain strength to protect families", he stated.

Henrique also highlighted the importance of initiating structural planning that goes beyond the periods of each municipal administration.

"If this discussion had started 20 years ago, with long-term investments, perhaps we wouldn't be going through this today. But that doesn't stop us from starting today. Even if we don't reap the rewards now, in 20 or 30 years our sons, daughters, grandchildren and granddaughters will reap it, without going through what so many families go through today", he said.

The mayor defended that the municipalities jointly build emergency and structural proposals and present the demands to the State Government as a regional agenda.

The meeting also discussed the progress of the implementation of the Campinas Metropolitan Regional Hospital. During the meeting, the progress of the project was presented, the work on which has already begun.

The unit aims to expand health care capacity in the region and contribute to reducing the vacancy regulation queue, carried out through the Health Service Offers Regulation Center (Cross).

At the end, Henrique do Paraíso thanked the mayors, state representatives, Civil Defense teams and members of civil society for their presence.

"I thank each mayor and each person who came to Sumaré today. Our region is strong because our people are strong. Workers, businesspeople, families, everyone makes this region move, and everyone deserves to be protected", he concluded.