The landslides which decimated Petropolis, a Brazilian mountain city, this week left houses in ruins, ripped families apart and scarred hillsides.
It was all predicable and, in some ways, avoidable.
Rapid urbanization, poor planning and lack of financing for subsidised homes are some of the problems facing Rio de Janeiro. Researchers as well as current and former public servants have stated that little has been done to address the repeated warnings about the dangers of mountainside construction.
With evidence that climate change is causing more intense precipitation, peril has only risen for Petropolis but also elsewhere.
Antonio Guerra is a geography professor at Rio de Janeiro’s Federal University. He has been studying weather-related disasters in Petropolis since almost 30 years. He has investigated the root causes of many of the mud-swollen disasters that have claimed lives and homes at numerous locations.
Rain is the biggest villain, but poor land use is the main cause. Guerra said that there is a complete lack of planning.
In the Serra do Mar area, more than 1,500 people have been killed by similar landslides over the past decade. Since 1981, more than 400 people have died in Petropolis from heavy storms.
The city’s random sprawl is a recent phenomenon. Petropolis is located in the mountains, about 64 km (40 mi) from Rio de Janeiro. It was named after a former Brazilian emperor.
An earlier generation of settlers built luxurious homes along the city’s waterways. In recent decades, the city’s prosperity has attracted newcomers from less-developed regions. The population grew to around 300,000.
Many people are unaware of the dangers and have built tiny homes in tight quarters on mountain sides. Many people build without permission because they don’t have the money.
Guerra said that deforestation and inadequate drainage make high-risk areas even more vulnerable. As time passes, people forget about disasters and rebuild homes in areas that are unsafe.
Yara Valverde, the local environmental regulator, headed the local office for nearly two decades. She created the city’s first hydrogeological risk alarm system in 2001. Plastic bottles were placed in communities to collect rainwater. They were alerted when they reached a certain level.
She enlisted volunteers to help her because there was no money from the public.
Homes and cars were destroyed by mudslides and floods that caused massive flooding. [Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo]Guerra, along with a team made up of geologists and civil engineers, mapped areas that were at risk in Petropolis between 2007-2010 and sent their findings to Petropolis. The next January saw heavy rains that caused landslides, which claimed nearly 1,000 lives, with 71 of them in Petropolis. It was Brazil’s worst-ever natural catastrophe.
The city has recognized the problem. Authorities noted in 2017 that 18% of the city, which includes around 20,000 households, was at very or high risk. Another 7,000 people would need to be relocated according to a plan developed by the municipality. It called for affordable housing units to be built and for a halt in new construction in high-risk areas.
Guerra, Valverde as well as residents and non-governmental organisations, claim that little has been done to achieve this vision. Petropolis is lacking in space for safe and new construction. It is also difficult to move residents from their homes.
Folha de S Paulo in Brazil, citing official data, reported Rios’ state government spending less than half of the money allocated for its disaster prevention-response programme.
Rio states construction secretary and infrastructure secretariat stated in an email that the city is responsible to inspect at-risk areas, housing policies, and relocates. The city didn’t respond to repeated requests to find out how many families were relocated in 2017 and what other measures were taken to accomplish the plan.
Brazilian President Jairbolsonaro tried to shift blame, saying that the budget for preventive measures was limited. He said that many times we don’t have the ability to prevent all things from happening, after flying over the disaster in Petropolis on Friday.
Heavy rains are common in this region, especially during the Southern Hemispheres Summer, which is between December and February [Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo]The landslides of Tuesday’s heavy rainfall, which was the most severe since 1932, caused the destruction of dozens upon dozens of hillside residences. Floods swept away cars and buses, leaving a trail of destruction in the streets.
Residents searched for missing relatives as well as friends and continued to feel fearful and anxious from the downpours.
Heavy rains are common in the region, particularly during the Southern Hemispheres summer between December and March. Experts believe that the rains are getting heavier as a result of climate change.
They are all weather extremes and occur very close together. Climate change also increases the frequency of events. Marcelo Seluchi is a coordinator at the government’s National Centre for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters. It is not about focusing on one event but the entire range of events.
Since the beginning of the year, heavy rains have hit Southeastern Brazil. More than 40 deaths were caused by mudslides in Minas Gerais, early January, and Sao Paulo, later that month.
This was after months of drought Brazil’s worst in ninety years that saw hydroelectric reservoirs across the southeast plummet to levels that raised concerns about power rationing.
