A large landslide from a ravine hit, this Monday (7), the region of the Terra Preta community, in the city of Manacapuru, close to Manaus. The extreme drought that the Amazon biome is facing is one of the causes of the phenomenon known as “Fallen Lands”.
The city’s mayor, Beto D’ Ângelo, confirmed that the landslide left a 6-year-old child missing. Authorities are working on the rescue operation for possible missing people.
“The phenomenon called ‘Fallen Lands’ occurs on the banks of rivers, in river areas. It is common in the Amazon region and develops through the collapse of the riverbank in most cases, or through very accelerated erosion of the riverbank, especially on banks that have a high slope.” says Renato Lima, director of Cenacid — Center for Scientific Support in Disasters and UN consultant-specialist on the subject of environmental and natural disasters.
An important point about this climatic event is the historic drought, a condition that can increase the “Fallen Lands”, a frequent event in the Amazon river region, but when it occurs in inhabited regions it can affect the population.
“Drought changes the stability condition of the banks by reducing the level of [lençol] groundwater and increase the volume that can be mobilized [deslizar]” points out Lima.
The state government of Amazonas, through a note, stated that a team from the Fire Department has already started mapping the area to rescue possible victims and a team is being moved to the municipality to reinforce the searches, with the assistance of divers and rescue specialists in collapsed structures
“In some situations, this phenomenon can generate environmental problems, loss of structures such as houses, roads and facilities. These areas must be monitored, and prevention measures must be taken when the phenomenon may affect communities or areas of interest”, concludes Lima.
The state is facing the worst drought in history. Until August this year, the drought left 20 cities in a state of emergency, affecting almost 300 thousand people, the Rio Negro reached its lowest mark in more than 120 years of measurement .
This content was originally published in Drought in Amazonas increases landslides; understand the “Caídas Terras” phenomenon on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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