Santa Catarina ramps up emergency measures as El Niño threat intensifies

The government of Santa Catarina issued a climate‑alert decree in May, activating a 180‑day emergency plan as the El Niño phenomenon is forecast with an 80‑90% chance of strong to very strong intensity. The decree speeds up procurement of humanitarian supplies, limits approval times to 48 hours and expands real‑time monitoring through 172 automated stations that report river levels and rainfall every 15 seconds.

On 22 May, the State Civil Protection and Defense Secretariat held an extraordinary crisis‑management committee meeting, bringing together state secretaries, security forces and technical teams to map capabilities, identify vulnerabilities and coordinate satellite‑based communication for emergency services. The meeting affirmed continuous meteorological monitoring, pre‑positioning of crews and equipment in vulnerable areas, and the use of the State Emergency Protection Fund.

Following the state‑level actions, the municipality of Camboriú on the north coast declared an emergency and created a municipal crisis cabinet on 19 May. Led by the mayor’s secretary of basic sanitation, the cabinet will track weather conditions, issue alerts via Cell Broadcast, SMS and WhatsApp, coordinate evacuations, manage temporary shelters and liaise with state and federal agencies to ensure a rapid response to potential floods, landslides and other extreme weather events.