The Minister of Internal Administration, Paulo Rocha, said today that he felt a “sense of tranquility” on Brava Island, although there are concerns, which he considered to be natural in relation to the earthquakes.
Paulo Rocha made these statements to journalists, on the sidelines of the visit he made today to the various locations in Brava, namely Cova Rodela, Fajã d´Água and Lomba Tatum, with the aim of raising awareness and monitoring the work being done by the national Civil Protection service, together with the city council.
The government official also highlighted that they are being “very clear” in the messages that are being transmitted to the population, considering that they are of “trust and tranquility”, since the Civil Protection services have been monitoring the evolution of the situation, in conjunction with the National Institute of Meteorology and Geophysics (INMG), so that they can understand the reality of the situation and “gradually” inform the population.
“Earthquakes, earthquakes, are a phenomenon of nature, they are not always predictable, but when they are, the national Civil Protection service monitors it, and if there is a need to inform the population, in the event of a worsening, it will provide this information ”, he highlighted.
As he highlighted, at this moment, despite there being peace of mind and no cause for concern, national services need to reinforce their planning, their preparation to respond to eventualities, should they ever become necessary.
Furthermore, the minister guaranteed that INMG has control stations installed in Brava that allow for very “efficient” data collection.
“Indeed, as far as I know, there are six permanent monitoring stations, but they also exist in Fogo, as they are volcanic islands and that is where these phenomena are most felt”, he informed.
In this sense, Paulo Rocha clarified that naturally the observation points cannot be on these islands, which is why they are located in the northern delegation, but specifically in São Vicente, where the data is monitored remotely, through the equipment that is installed and which allows, with technology, monitor the phenomenon in any part of the territory.
On November 22nd, the Government declared a contingency situation and alert for Brava Island for a period of four months, which can be extended.
