. 24/7 Space News .
SHAKE AND BLOW
Chaotic climate, chaotic cities fuel Brazil flood toll
By Paula RAMON
Guaruja, Brazil (AFP) March 5, 2020

Violent rain has killed scores of people and forced thousands from their homes this year in Brazil's most populous states, a disaster experts blame on climate upheaval but also rampant urbanization.

Flash floods, landslides and other havoc wrought by torrential rain have killed at least 29 people in recent days in the states of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Another 25 are missing.

That comes after more than 50 people were killed by heavy rain that devastated the state of Minas Gerais in January.

The same scenes of destruction have played out in all three southeastern states, together home to more than 83 million people: poor neighborhoods wiped out by tidal waves of brown mud; houses and cars swept away by flash floods; residents evacuated by boat and helicopter as their streets turn to gushing rivers.

More than three million people live in high-risk zones in Brazil's southeast, which has been hit by record rain this year -- in some places, a month's worth in a matter of hours.

As dozens of rescue workers dug through the debris of wrecked houses for his missing mother, stepfather and sister-in-law, one of those affected, 24-year-old Yago de Sousa Nunes, voiced frustration that the authorities did not do more to protect the at-risk population.

"The city government knew this was a high-risk zone, they knew how much rain was going to fall this week, but they didn't do anything to evacuate people," he said alongside the ruins of the Barreira de Joao Guarda neighborhood, in the coastal city of Guaruja, Sao Paulo.

- Extreme weather -

Is climate change to blame?

Experts say more studies are needed to be sure.

But there is no doubt the region is experiencing "an increase in extreme weather events," said Andrea Ramos of the National Meteorological Institute.

This year, the rainy season in southeastern Brazil has been marked by extremes, said Marcelo Seluchi of the Natural Disaster Monitoring and Alert Center (Cemaden): very dry in the first half of the summer, then very wet from mid-January on.

"The planet is heating up, that's beyond doubt. It's more humid than 50 or 100 years ago, which means the same weather systems have more potential to create rain," he said.

That has combined with the rampant expansion of urban areas to increase people's vulnerability to floods.

Brazil's biggest cities have seen decades of nearly unchecked growth, as poor migrants arrive and settle wherever they can, often building unstable shantytowns on hillsides or the extreme city outskirts.

"Population growth and the growth of cities means we're replacing vegetation with cement, and that's where a long-standing problem in Brazil comes into play: lots of building on high-risk areas," Seluchi told AFP.

More than half the population of the southeast region's state capitals -- Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Vitoria -- lives in at-risk zones. And 80 percent of those people are "highly vulnerable: they live in very precarious houses, with high population density and a high percentage of children and the elderly," he said.

- Housing problem -

Rio de Janeiro's Mayor Marcelo Crivella, a far-right evangelical Christian bishop, caused outrage amid the floods when he blamed residents for the destruction.

"People like to live close (to flood-prone rivers and gulleys) because they spend less on sewage pipes for their pee and poop," he said.

Unaffordable housing costs have forced the urban poor into areas unfit for settlements, said Henrique Evers, an urban development expert at the World Resources Institute.

"Planning housing for vulnerable populations near urban services is one of the best ways to deal with this challenge," he said.

"Brazil still has a long way to go."


Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


SHAKE AND BLOW
More than 200,000 hit by Congo floods
Brazzaville (AFP) Feb 29, 2020
More than 200,000 people have been affected by floods that have ravaged Republic of Congo since last year, authorities said Saturday. The government has issued an urgent international appeal after the flooding along the Congo and Ubangi rivers in the country's north, inundating communities and washing away homes and cattle. President Denis Sassou Nguesso has blamed the weather disaster on "climate disruption" and declared "a state of natural disaster and humanitarian emergency". On Saturda ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

SHAKE AND BLOW
No going back: Bali's Chinese tourists fear virus-hit homeland

Insects, seaweed and lab-grown meat could be the foods of the future

Katherine Johnson, NASA mathematician, dies at 101

US-China tensions colour race to head global patent agency

SHAKE AND BLOW
Northrop Grumman completes key test for Orion Launch Abort System Attitude Control Motor

AFRL, Masten Space Systems, NASA, collaborate on successful testing of methane engine

Simple, fuel-efficient rocket engine could enable cheaper, lighter spacecraft

SpaceX announces partnership to send four tourists into deep orbit

SHAKE AND BLOW
Seismic activity on Mars resembles that found in the Swabian Jura

Ancient meteorite site on Earth could reveal new clues about Mars' past

The seismicity of Mars

Magnetic field at Martian surface ten times stronger than expected

SHAKE AND BLOW
China's Yuanwang-5 sails to Pacific Ocean for space monitoring mission

Construction of China's space station begins with start of LM-5B launch campaign

China Prepares to Launch Unknown Satellite Aboard Long March 7A Rocket

China's Long March-5B carrier rocket arrives at launch site

SHAKE AND BLOW
Kleos Space secures 3M Euro loan agreement with Dubai family office

Europlanet launches 10M euro Research Infrastructure to support planetary science

Boeing buying Russian components for Starliner

NSW Government establishes a home for space industry initiatives

SHAKE AND BLOW
Hope for a new permanent magnet that's cheap and sustainable

Cloud data speeds set to soar with aid of laser mini-magnets

Creating custom light using 2D materials

Raytheon awarded $17 million for dual band radar spares for USS Ford

SHAKE AND BLOW
Salmon parasite is world's first non-oxygen breathing animal

Sub-Neptune sized planet validated with the habitable-zone planet finder

Planet on edge of destruction in 18-hour year frenzy

LOFAR pioneers new way to study exoplanet environments

SHAKE AND BLOW
Ultraviolet instrument delivered for ESA's Jupiter mission

One Step Closer to the Edge of the Solar System

TRIDENT Mission Concept Selected by NASA's Discovery Program

Findings from Juno Update Jupiter Water Mystery









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.