Last updated on 31st July 2023
We (www.madeiraconsorcio.com) visited the Civil Protection Centre in Cancela (SRPC) (https://www.procivmadeira.pt/pt/)
The presentations
Dr. Quintino gave us a basic presentation, and his colleague André showed us the functionalities in the Crisis Centre Room. Then the pilots and crew presented themselves next to the helicopter for us (we don’t need Tom Cruise here…
The top points:
The SRPC mission is to prevent the risks inherent in situations of serious accident or catastrophe, as well as resolve the effects resulting from such situations, helping people and protecting property. The SRPC also guides, coordinates and supervises the activities carried out by the fire departments, as well as all civil protection and rescue activities. Information to the public (kids and adults) is also a big part of their duty.
During a flooding for example, they are in charge of the coordination of all services involved, including Police, Red Cross, Forest Police, Sanas (water rescue), and all institutions on land. The Navy, Army and Airforce have a separate operation. However, they work closely together ensuring that during an emergency the chain of command is effective and coordinated.
The island has a special situation due to the old days, when there was no Via Rapida. Several locations have their own firefighters /bombeiros / sapateiros, (there are three levels the Sapadores (highest), regular firemen and the volunteers. It is still necessary to maintain three forces due to the topography and difficulty of the island terrain. They work all under the management of SRPC.
The App
The ProCiv Madeira App can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or Apple App. It provides information on the weather situation and real time information during catastrophes.
The App is being promoted at the airport and the port to tourists. However, as André pointed out, it is not tourists who are the greatest problem for them, the locals are more reckless during excursions as they treat the terrain with over-familiarity and confidence. The App also has a location device allowing for ground team to locate your position or as close as and will work whether there is a signal or not. Therefore, ideal for those walking along the levadas or in the mountains.
The App also has all your information including health problems such as diabetes, allowing for EMIR and the emergency services to know beforehand of any pre-existing health issues.
A further idea was mooted, and that was for charging to use the levadas and having a controlled entry system, ensuring that the levadas are not overused, can be monitored and the money used to carry out running repairs and create barriers. Although some tourists completely disregard them, even if there is a 300 m drop the other side. A photo of a lifetime may be the last photo they ever take…
Forest fires
Forest patrol is done by the respective police, and the helicopter is available from June to November. The forest police are responsible for any fire above 900m above sea level. We had the last big fire in 2016.
Coming up: prevention in the city, forest fires, camping, arson, landslides, fire towers, controlled burning
Ursula Hahn
info at madeira-weekly.com
