September 13, 2021

08:09

Bruno Pacheco – from Cenarium

MANAUS – Benjamin Constant, a 1,119.16 distant city from Manaus and situated on the triple border between Brazil, Peru and Colombia, decreed on Friday, 10, emergency situation in urban and rural areas of the city, because of the ebb of the Javari and Solimões rivers, which has been causing damage and economic, social, human, material and environmental damage to residents of the region that need water for subsistence and means of work.

In a publication in the Diário Oficial dos Municípios (DOM), the city government authorizes the mobilization of municipal agencies under the coordination of the Coordenadoria Municipal de Proteção e Defesa Civil (Compdec), in the response actions to the natural disaster and the rehabilitation of the scenario and reconstruction, as well as the summoning of volunteers to reinforce the response to the drought.

“The impacts of this natural phenomenon reflect directly on the local economy, as well as on the lives of thousands of riverside dwellers who, at this time of year, are isolated in their respective communities, without access to drinking water and basic supplies for their subsistence”, Ricelly Dacio, municipal coordinator of Civil Defense (Comdec) of Benjamin Constant, stated in the publication.

One of the areas affected by the drought is the river island of Bom Intento, in the rural area of the city. According to the Municipal Civil Defense Coordinator of the Benjamin Constant City Hall, some communities in the region have reported demands because of the phenomenon. Last August 28, river dwellers affected by the drought were visited by Comdec, who were registering families for a possible request for humanitarian aid with the Government of Amazonas.

Flood and drought

The drought in Benjamin Constant occurs after a period of flooding caused by the flooding of Amazon rivers in the first months of the year. The phenomenon is feared by river dwellers and fishermen in the region, as highlighted in the CENARIUM report “Special Mamirauá – ‘We are afraid of a great drought, as the old ones say’, says fisherman”.

According to the residents, after every great flood, there are great possibilities of having a great period of low water as well, which can cause even greater problems and directly affect the lives of fishermen, farmers, traders, adults and children.

The ebb affects commerce

The ebb of the Solimões River reached, on September 3rd of this year, the mark of 78 centimeters below zero, according to data passed on by the Port Authority in Tabatinga to the Civil Defense of the city. On September 4, the water level reached negative 72 centimeters. The record drought was registered in October 2010, when the water level reached negative 86 centimeters.

Without enough water to move large ships, the city has been suffering from a shortage in local commerce. The ships that supply the city with goods are stranded along the river, in Alto Solimões, causing inconvenience to traders, who need to pay new freight in small canoes to bring to the city the materials bought in Manaus.

Because of the dry account, the ships can only get as far as Tabatinga, a neighboring city. With the logistical difficulty, the alternative found by shopkeepers was to pay the freight of canoes to Benjamin Constant. To defray the expenses with the measure, merchants have increased product prices, affecting the final consumer.