Preparação Frente a Desastres e Realocação Estratégica – Lições Aprendidas nas Águas do Guaíba

In April 2024, there was an accumulation of rain that caused the level of the Guaíba River to rise to levels never seen before. Surpassing the milestone reached during the 1941 flood, the current natural disaster caused serious structural damage, property and economic losses, but nothing compared to the mental and psychological damage caused to the people who suffered and continue to suffer from this unprecedented catastrophe in Brazil. In response to the crisis, actions by federal, state and municipal agencies, in addition to the actions of volunteers from different parts of our country, resulted in the rescue of countless people, animals and subsequent support in the recovery, reestablishment and reconstruction of essential structures for the return to normality. In the midst of this scenario, this author, accompanied by volunteers, formed by military and civilian police officers with the necessary knowledge and means, moved three times and at different times in order to support the various rescue missions for those affected by the disaster. These missions turned into a unique experience, based mainly on the experiences and accounts of boatmen, people affected by the tragedy, volunteers and other professionals who acted brilliantly to save lives and alleviate the suffering of residents in the impacted areas.The personal reflection and assessment of what we saw led us to raise questions and take a more general approach to how prepared or unprepared we are to face more disasters of this magnitude. Through this work, we will share these experiences, with the specific objective of analyzing what we have in legislation and treaties that guide the subject, before, during and after the disaster, based on the water disaster in question, but which will certainly, in a broad sense, affect any other type of disaster that may occur in the coming months or years.