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Brazil hurricane guide

A hurricane has only been confirmed once in the South Atlantic. In March 2004, a storm Brazilian meteorologists named Catarina made landfall in Santa Catarina state, in southern Brazil, as a Category 1 hurricane. A peer reviewed analysis published in Monthly Weather Review in 2006 says this was the first time a hurricane's existence was confirmed in the South Atlantic basin by scientific analysis and satellite imagery. The South Atlantic's cooler water and wind patterns make a storm like this extremely rare, and no other hurricane has been confirmed there since. For most of coastal Brazil, the risk that comes up year after year is heavy rain, flooding, and landslides, not hurricanes. The Secretaria Nacional de Proteção e Defesa Civil (SEDEC), under the Ministério da Integração e do Desenvolvimento Regional (MIDR), coordinates national disaster response. INMET (Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia) issues weather warnings. Brazil is on this one page.

Checked on November 6, 2026

Every phone number and web address on this page was checked against official sources on that date. Details can change, especially during a storm. Always follow instructions from the Secretaria Nacional de Proteção e Defesa Civil (SEDEC). In an emergency, call 190 for police, 192 for SAMU medical emergencies, or 193 for the fire department and rescue. Civil defense can be reached at 199.

What to know in Brazil

  • A 2006 scientific analysis of the storm (McTaggart-Cowan, Bosart, Davis, Atallah, Gyakum, and Emanuel, Monthly Weather Review) describes Catarina's life cycle: it began as an extratropical low off Brazil, was pushed back toward the coast by a blocking weather pattern, and transitioned into a tropical system over cool water before making landfall in Santa Catarina as a Category 1 hurricane.
  • SEDEC sits under the Ministério da Integração e do Desenvolvimento Regional (MIDR) and is listed as one of the ministry's national secretariats on its protection and civil defense page. The page does not list a public phone number or hotline.
  • Brazil's three digit emergency numbers were assigned nationally by Anatel (the telecommunications regulator) in 2004: 190 to the Polícia Militar, 191 to the Polícia Rodoviária Federal, 192 to the ambulance service, 193 to the Corpo de Bombeiros, and 199 to Defesa Civil. Police and fire response are organized state by state, so some current operating details come from individual state government pages rather than one federal page.
  • INMET, Brazil's national meteorological institute, publishes its daily weather warnings on a separate public portal, avisos.inmet.gov.br, as described in INMET's own news page about the interface.

Emergency and information numbers

Service Number Notes
Police 190 Polícia Militar emergency line. A government service page for the military police (COPOM) describes it as free and staffed 24 hours a day, every day. Run state by state.
Medical emergency (SAMU) 192 SAMU (Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência), the Ministry of Health's free, 24 hour mobile emergency medical service, as described on the Ministry's own page.
Fire department and rescue 193 Corpo de Bombeiros Militar. A Minas Gerais state government page describes the line as free and available 24 hours a day. Run state by state.
Civil defense 199 Defesa Civil. Assigned nationally by Anatel in 2004. Civil defense call centers are generally run by each municipality, so this confirms the number assignment, not one federal call center.
Brazilian Red Cross +55-21-2507-3577 Cruz Vermelha Brasileira, listed as the contact number on its own homepage. Not an emergency line.

Official alerts and information

  • INMET weather warnings: INMET's public portal for its daily weather warnings, described on INMET's own news page as the official place these warnings are published. Website.

National resources

  • Secretaria Nacional de Proteção e Defesa Civil (SEDEC): National civil defense secretariat, under the Ministério da Integração e do Desenvolvimento Regional (MIDR). In Portuguese. Website.
  • Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (INMET): Brazil's national weather institute, with forecasts, climate monitoring, and a link to its weather warnings portal. In Portuguese. Website.
  • Cruz Vermelha Brasileira (Brazilian Red Cross): National Red Cross society, part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement since 1912. Lists disaster and emergency relief work. In Portuguese. Website.

For state agencies across the country, see the official sources page.

Evacuation centers

Open only when announced

Evacuation centers open only when officials announce them, and not every center opens for every storm. Check the official list of open centers before you leave home. Bring your own bedding, food, water, and medicines.

No national list of open shelters is published on an official page, and no shelter is shown as open here. Civil defense (199) and fire department (193) response, like shelter decisions, are organized state by state and city by city in Brazil. Follow your state or municipal civil defense department and official announcements to learn whether you must leave and where to go.

Radio, TV and weather

Keep a battery or hand crank radio. When power and cell service fail, radio is often the only way to hear official updates.

Official forecasts

  • Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (INMET): Brazil's national meteorological institute, linked to the Ministério da Agricultura e Pecuária. Address: Eixo Monumental Sul Via S1, Rua G, 4º Avenida, Setor Sudoeste, Brasília-DF, CEP 70680-900. No public phone number is listed, only a contact form and an Ouvidoria (ombudsman) link. Website.

After the storm: help for displaced residents

If your home is damaged or you cannot go back, these organizations help with shelter, food, money, and paperwork. Many programs open only after a disaster declaration, so check their pages for current status.

Relief organizations

  • Cruz Vermelha Brasileira (Brazilian Red Cross): National Red Cross society, with disaster and emergency relief programs. +55 (21) 2507-3577 is the contact number shown on its own website. Phone: +55-21-2507-3577. Website.

Sources

Checked on November 6, 2026. If a number or address here is wrong, please tell us at Keith@KMyers.me.