Floods in Brazil

Flooding in Brazil has been a major disaster that has affected people, infrastructure, homes, and businesses for a long time. The country experiences rivers, floods, and landslides, now considered natural catastrophes that lead to the death of people and animals. It has led to the destruction of properties in many urban areas. The disaster is associated with increased socioeconomic development, the concentration of people in urban centers, and economic activities in the urban centers. Climate change also plays a critical part in increasing the frequency and severity of floods. In 2023, the country experienced precipitation of more than 600 millimeters (Swiss, 2011). It has led to the death of 57 people in 2023, with others missing, and it has forced more than 4000 people to evacuate their homes to look for safer places to live. To avoid more losses, the essay explores the pre-disaster assessment of the population, preparedness, readiness, recovery programs, effects experienced by the community, response support from government and NGOs, proposed mitigating strategies, and conclusions and recommendations to eliminate the dangers caused by flood disasters in Brazil.

The Pre-disaster assessment of the population shows that people living in urban areas are most vulnerable to potential disasters due to the high population living in areas with increased related issues.

• Study shows that areas in Brazil that are most affected by climate disasters are municipalities.
• From the 825 municipalities, analysis shows that 82% of the small cities affected had large populations exposed to landslides and floods (Swiss, 2011).
• Most vulnerable areas are associated with poor education levels, high poverty, and poor infrastructure.
• Around 19.3 million people live near areas prone to river flooding, and 14 million people live in areas affected by flash floods (Swiss, 2011).
• The Southeast states of Brazil are the most affected areas, followed by the Northeastern areas.
• States at risk of river floods include Amazonas, Sao Paulo, Maranhao, Pernambuco, and Para. Flash floods risk areas include Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Bahia, Minas Gerais, and Santa Catarina.

Floods in Brazil have significant effects on individual lives, businesses, and the economy of Brazil. The research shows that low-income households are majorly affected by floods than high-income earners (Haddad & Teixeira, 2015).

• Floods led to the deaths and destruction of essential structures in society.
• The floods cause major landslides in the Southeastern states of Brazil that leave people without houses to live in. It destroys farm products in areas where farming is done (Haddad & Teixeira, 2015).
• It has led to the destruction of roads and bridges, which aid transportation.
• Most schools suspend classes, and children have to lack classes.
• It causes the emergence of waterborne diseases that affect most people and can lead to deaths if the hospitals are also suspended.
• Losses and destruction of property might lead to psychological stress and depression.

The agencies that have offered support to the people in the affected areas by the floods by responding to the emergencies. According to the Relief Web (2022), The Brazil Red Cross has been working with federal, state, and municipal authorities in strategies to help people affected by the floods by going to the field to rescue people left homeless and without food.

Another agency that assists victims of floods is USAID which helps people trying to recover from the losses experienced during floods. It helps with the donation of cleaning and personal hygiene products such as soaps, bedding, buckets, and kitchen utensils. They work with other companies to donate food, water, and money.

• Brazil is faced with recurring environmental disasters which are challenging to control. As the government and private organizations try to recover from floods, they are faced with other catastrophic disasters, such as drought (Relief Web, 2022).
• Floods cause major destructions of property and infrastructure that demand so many finances to help recover the losses. The financial burden is too big for Brazil to help in recovery programs.
• The focus is on helping individuals overcome the losses, and government utilizes much capital in helping affected families, which reduces the capital to be used in the recovery programs.

Mitigation methods are based on the causes of the flooding in Brazil, which is floods caused by urbanization, resulting in flash floods and river floods.

• The authority should construct macro drainage and preservation of the lateral spaces where the water will flow to retain sediments and waste.
• Mapping out flood zones that are at high risk (Lopes & Flavio,2017).
• Construction of an appropriate drainage system that will allow smooth water flow in urban areas (da Silva et al., 2018)
• Discourage people to live in areas that are prone to floods and pose high risks of losing lives.

Recommendations and Conclusion

Floods in Brazil can be mitigated if proper strategies are laid out by the government. The federal, state, and municipal authority should develop the best strategies to minimize losses and impacts on human lives associated with floods. Appropriate urban planning can help in mitigating risks associated with floods in urban centers.

The poor drainage plan causes the flood disaster in Brazil. Hence, the recommendation to the brazil government would be to properly plan the urban centers to have a better-integrated drainage management system (Tucci, 2002).

Relocate people living in risky areas that would be affected by the landslides.

References

Swiss, R. (2011). Flood risk in Brazil: Prevention, adaptation, and insurance. URL: http://media. swissre. com/documents. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David-Bresch/publication/253327670_Flood_risk_Brazil_full_study/links/00b4951f7f5db0793d000000/Flood-risk-Brazil-full-study.pdf

Lopes Ribeiro, Flavio. (2017). Brazil: Disaster Profile and Risk Management System. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319991139_Brazil_Disaster_Profile_and_Risk_Management_System

Araújo S, R., Ohara, M., Miyamoto, M., & Takeuchi, K. (2022). Flood impact on income inequality in the Itapocu River basin, Brazil. Journal of Flood Risk Management, 15(3), e12805. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfr3.12805

Relief web. (2022). Brazil: Floods Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA) DREF Operation Update n° 2 MDRBR010 report. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Haddad, E. A., & Teixeira, E. (2015). Economic impacts of natural disasters in megacities: The case of floods in São Paulo, Brazil. Habitat International, 45, 106-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2014.06.023

da Silva , L. P., Junior, J. L., da Silva, J. A. F., Wasserman, J. C., & Rodrigues, P. P. G. W. (2018). Water management and urban flood mitigation: studies and proposals for the Macaé River Basin In Brazil. Journal of Urban and Environmental Engineering, 12(2), 188-200.

Tucci, C. E. M. (2002). Flood control and urban drainage management in Brazil. Waterlines, 20(4), 6–8. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24680741