The President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro, reviewed the prevention work carried out in the states of Trujillo, Mérida and Táchira at the beginning of the rainy season in Venezuela.
During a presidential address to activate the "Andes 2023 Task Force", the head of state commented that Venezuela must have the capacity to "mitigate all the rains" and "blows of nature" so that the Venezuelan people are protected.
With a contact with President Maduro, the governor of Táchira, Freddy Bernal said that the rains have been continuous in the entity since last year, with the exception of a period between November and March.
He explained that when the rains “strongly impact” the highlands of Mérida, the water is discharged towards the Trujillo states, the southern zone of Lake Maracaibo and the rest of that entity.
"That is why this task force that is being implemented today is necessary for an immediate response," Bernal stressed.
Three phases of responses
Bernal explained that they work in three phases: the first is the "alert" that is being worked with Civil Protection.
"For example, in Táchira, 70 rain gauges are installed that give an early warning of the amount of rain to be able to evacuate if necessary," he specified.
There is also the maintenance phase, in which the governors and mayors are dedicated to cleaning the natural channels of rivers and streams, as well as the ditches and drains of the cities.
The third phase is the so-called Task Force, "which allows us to react to the contingency," explained the governor.
Bernal explained that in the last two weeks the increase in the water level of the rivers impacted the metropolitan area of San Cristóbal. "The main highway, the Antonio José de Sucre, was about to be carried away by the river," the governor said.
Trujillo recovers edge faults
For his part, the governor of Trujillo, Gerardo Márquez, recalled that last year the entity was "very affected" by the rains, while in the current it was possible to recover more than 80% of the 136 edge failures that occurred due to the 2022 storms.
He stressed that there is a new doctrine to deal with natural emergencies in the country, after the experiences in the states of Mérida, Táchira and Trujillo that will allow less impact caused by the rains this year.
"We are prepared for that," said the governor.
Civic-military-police union
President Maduro invoked the "perfect civic-military-police union" to face the natural vicissitudes that could occur in the national territory as a result of climate change.
"Increasingly, the organization must allow us to be alert, well prepared and working in the face of these climatic emergencies," he said.
The head of state asked to have the forecasts "up to where they give us the resources" to have the machinery ready and have the capacity for action, reaction, movement and protection of the people.
“Our people know that they are not alone, they know that they have us to embrace them, to accompany them, to care for them. We have to guarantee care in the fastest possible times,” Maduro emphasized.
National Risk Management Plan
Earlier, the Minister for Internal Relations, Justice and Peace, Remigio Ceballos Ichaso, launched the National Risk Management Plan with the aim of achieving "maximum coordination between Citizen Security agencies to pay attention to the arrival of the rains".
This was reported by the senior official on his Twitter account, detailing that, by order of President Maduro, with maximum coordination between the Citizen Security Bodies, firefighters, Civil Protection, governors and mayors, "the prevention and assistance to the People for Life”.
