Area Metropolitana de San Salvador. Source: Protección Civil de El Salvador.
#PlanInvernal2022 El Salvador

El Salvador: Public Safety a Number One Priority

Natalia García

“As a characteristic of the Government of President Nayib Bukele, all the institutions of the National Civil Protection Commission anticipate and are prepared for the climatic events that the Ministry of the Environment has predicted ” – Juan Carlos Bidegaín, Minister of the Interior and president of the National Civil Protection Commission.

El Salvador’s winter season began in May and will remain through October. The country is expected to receive considerable rainfall for the first six months of the year. With heavy rains, however, there is a greater risk of urban flooding, flash floods, and landslides in the northern mountain range and the volcanic range in the center and west of the country. 

 

Area Metropolitana de San Salvador. Image Source: Protección Civil de El Salvador.

 

As a result, El Salvador’s Ministry of Government devised Plan Invernal 2022, which will be implemented by the National Civil Protection System. As stated by the Minister of the Interior and president of the National Civil Protection Commission, Juan Carlos Bidegaín, “The objective of this plan is to establish coordination, activation, mobilization and intervention actions with the different institutions of the National Civil Protection and Disaster Mitigation System in the event of events generated by the winter season, in order to prevent, mitigate and respond in an immediate and timely manner to the population, in the event of any emergency that arise.”

Throughout this season, the government’s primary concern is public safety. Therefore, the General Directorate of Civil Protection, the National Civil Police and the Armed Forces; the Ministry of Health; the National Administration of Aqueducts and Sewers (ANDA);  MOP/FOVIAL; the Ministry of the Environment, and the El Salvador Fire Department, are among the institutions that will work together to protect the population during the winter season.

 

Juan Carlos Bidegain, Minister of the Interior and President of the National Civil Protection Commission, as well as Romeo Rodriguez, Minister of Public Works and Transportation, and Fernando López, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, were among the officials who attended an event about the Invernal Plan 2022. Image Source: Presidencia, Gobierno El Salvador.

 

This initiative, which is separated into two components, is projected to have 10,000 individuals involved.The Plan Invernal 2022’s first component focuses on risk mitigation, while the second component focuses on emergency care. In this approach, President Nayib Bukele’s administration shows its dedication to considering and anticipating the welfare of the Salvadoran people. Civil Protection has made its new emergency number 2281-0888 available to the public, and officials have urged people to stay informed through official channels.

 

 

Mitigation Risk

The first component of Plan Invernal 2022, risk mitigation, entails the removal of debris, weeds, and waste from stream beds and rivers which have a history of overflowing. As part of the first component, this phase will be conducted in the metropolitan area of San Salvador and the departmental capitals. The activities will include the cleaning of drains, evacuation of waste and installation of garbage collection baskets.

 

 

The cleaning of inlets will also facilitate drainage and increase hydraulic capacity. This first component of the plan also covers the protection of reinforced plastic slopes with metal anchors, distilling of streams, and rivers and monitoring of road infrastructure. These projects will be carried out on the Pan-American highway through Los Chorros; at El Poy Customs; in La Cruz de Colón neighborhood; in Bosques del Matazano, Santa Lucía and Ilopango; in Canton El Brazo San Miguel; at 49 Av. Norte de S. S. and Las Pilitas community in Soyapango. A schedule containing the location, dates, and periods in which each of the mitigation steps has been created to operationalize the preventive actions.

 

 

Officials are keeping an eye on high-risk locations that are prone to landslides and floods due to water accumulation. Image Source: Presidencia, Gobierno de El Salvador.

 

One of the most important components of the Winter Plan is the assembly and adaptation of 34 preventive shelters across the country. As a result, the Directorate of Shelters began preparing the 34 buildings that the government will make available as temporary refuge for families that may require it during this rainy season’s evacuations. The 34 preventive shelters will be: 3 in Santa Ana; 2 in Ahuachapan; 1 in Sonsonate; 9 in San Salvador; 3 in Chalatenango; 4 in La Libertad; 1 in Cuscatlan; 1 in Cabañas; 2 in La Paz; 1 in Saint Vincent; 1 in Morazan; 1 in San Miguel; 3 in Usulutan and 2 in La Union. The people who stay at the shelters will be provided with food, personal cleaning supplies, health services, child care, and security. The present administration was able to stop using schools as shelters last year as a result of these preventative measures.

 

One of the 64 shelters built as part of Plan Invernal 2022. Image Source: Presidencia Gobierno El Salvador.

 

Emergency Care

The second component of Plan Invernal is the response organization, intervention areas, operational actions, methods to use, administration and control of operations, and incident management chain. The areas where reaction operations are controlled are the Emergency Operations Center, the Sectoral Crisis Room, and the Incident Command Posts.

 

 

Two fumigation and abatement mega-days will be held in the 262 municipalities of the country during the Plan Invernal 2022.  These will be accompanied by five brigades with 2,000 collaborators, who will be ready to assist an average of 1.6 million Salvadoran houses in 45 days. The goal of establishing system-wide coordination, activation, mobilization, and intervention activities is to set safety structures in place in case of rain-related events. The plan is to design a quick and efficient response system to assist the population in the event of need. 

 

 

This plan outlines the implementation of readiness and response measures in high-risk areas as a result of hydrometeorological occurrences, with the help of the System’s institutions at the national, departmental, municipal, and community levels. Through Civil Protection, an Early Warning System for urban floods has been installed in key areas of the city to increase monitoring, preparedness, and reaction procedures in communities along the El Arenal River’s banks.

 

 

A team of 43 Emergency Tactical Team members and 218 Civil Protection lifeguards, will assist with drain cleaning, evacuation and safety in flooded areas, flood prevention in flood-prone areas, access release due to fallen trees, clogged road drainage, evacuation of people and goods, flood victim rescue, injured care, protection and security in shelters, and support for humanitarian assistance actions.

 

 

As of now, 61 impacted residences, a church, a school, and a health center have all been evacuated.The roof of the Espiritu Santo Canton School Center was damaged by strong winds, and 20 percent of the roof was damaged. As well as the Coatepeque church being slightly damaged by a lightning strike.

 

 

Assistance has been delivered to flood-affected residences in Regalado Colony and Tacuzcalco Community in the municipality of Nahulingo in the Sonsonate department, along with 32 people who were evacuated and the response to 5 landslides and 43 fallen trees. During the cleaning days, more than 50 tons of garbage were dislodged at the following locations: Altos de Miramonte Vault, Quebrada El Garrobo, Quebrada El Piro, and Quebrada Las Lajas. The Plan Invernal’s results have been promising, as the ministry of government continues to prioritize public safety and to stay alert for emergencies that the rains may bring. 

 

Natalia García | University of California, Los Angeles

My name is Natalia García and I was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, I am the proud daughter of Salvadoran immigrants. As of currently I am an undergraduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), majoring in Spanish, Community and Cultures and minoring in Chicana/Chicano studies. I am very passionate about all things Latin America from politics to history and so much more and now being a part of Latina Republic I hope that I can further aid in changing the negative stereotypes and shedding light to the beautiful side of what is Latin America as it is not talked about as much as it should be.

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