The tragedy caused by the storm on February 15 can be considered the biggest in the city of Petrópolis, in the mountainous region of Rio. With 152 deaths already confirmed, the number surpassed the number recorded in 1988, when 134 people died after an intense storm, which caused landslides and floods.
In 2011, the city of Petrópolis was also hit by heavy rains and 73 people lost their lives. It was the year in which Brazil experienced one of the worst climate catastrophes in the country – hundreds of people died in the neighboring city of Friburgo, also in the Serrana Region of Rio.
Throughout the week, experts were already talking about an announced tragedy. Geotechnical engineer Luís Carlos de Oliveira, one of those responsible for the Municipal Risk Reduction Plan (PMRR) prepared in 2017 and sent to the city hall that same year, says that several measures that should have been taken years before have barely come to fruition. The problem of urban occupation has not only been unresolved, but has worsened over time, according to him.
“All the reflections made after the study alerted to structural issues of urbanization and housing solutions. In the entire region where the catastrophe occurred, a densification was observed with an increase and intensification of occupation in recent years”, highlighted the specialist.
The Municipal Risk Reduction Plan (PMRR) prepared and released in 2017 indicated that more than 15,000 households in the first district of Petrópolis were in high and very high risk areas for landslides. This was precisely the region most impacted by the rains on Tuesday (15) in the municipality.
In total, there were 27,704 houses in high and very high risk regions, in locations largely within permanent preservation areas (APP’s).
The imperial city, as Petrópolis is nationally known, is susceptible to heavy rains due to its topography. But irregular occupations on slopes and in areas of permanent protection (APP) are conditioning factors in the impact of extraordinary climatic events such as the one we have seen.
In an interview with CNN this Saturday (19), the mayor of Petrópolis, Rubens Bomtempo (PSB), stated that there are areas of risk in almost the entire city and that the constitution of the land favors disasters due to rains.
“There are areas of risk in almost the entire city. A city of 300,000 inhabitants… Extremely rugged terrain, we have some terrain characteristics that don’t favor it either”, said the mayor.
Last Tuesday (15), it rained in just four hours, which was expected for the entire month of February.
According to the National Center for Monitoring and Alerts for Natural Disasters (Cemaden), it was the heaviest rain in the city’s history.
Source: CNN Brasil
