2022 Petrópolis floods
Aerial view of Petrópolis, Brazil after the floods ravaged the city
DateFebruary 15, 2022
LocationPetrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Deaths231
Missing5
Property damage1 billion R$ ($193.8 million USD)

On 15 February 2022, intense rainfall in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil caused mudslides and flooding that destroyed parts of the city. At least 231 people died in the disaster.[1][2]

The Background

Petrópolis is a popular tourist city in Brazil, and as it expanded, its poorer residents built upon the nearby mountainsides. This led to deforestation and poor drainage in these areas of the city.[3] From 2007 to 2010 geologists carried out a number of reports and landslide risk map for the Quitandinha district, and found the most vulnerable areas of the municipality. These findings should have been disseminated throughout Petropolis but, due to insufficient funding, this did not happen. Additionally, the local authorities of Petrópolis ordered a survey in 2017 and identified 15,240 houses with a high risk of being destroyed due to heavy rainfalls, which covered about 18% of the city. The city, however, was unable to act on this report.[3][4]

The National Natural Disaster Alert Monitoring Center (Cemaden) issued an alert on the magnitude of the storm two days before the floods on 15 February. According to specialists, the warning should have prompted the authorities to mobilize to evacuate the residents.[5] Despite the intensity of the tragedy that would be drawn a few hours later, this alert was issued in a classification of "moderate risk of landslides".[6]

Event

An example of the mudslides as viewed on 18 February
First responders in a rescue operation

On February 15, 2022, the city of Petrópolis received an unusually high amount of rain within three hours, 258 millimetres (10.2 in). This was more than the prior 30 days combined, and the worst the city had seen since 1932.[3][7] According to Cemaden, of the rain recorded during that day, 250 mm (9.8 in) was recorded between 4:20pm and 7:20pm. The climatological normal for the month of February was 185 millimetres (7.3 in). It was the biggest storm in the history of Petrópolis, since measurements began in 1932. The previous record had occurred on August 20, 1952, when it rained 168.2 mm (6.62 in) in 24 hours.[8]

The high level of precipitation caused flooding within the city as well as destabilized the mountainside, causing mudslides.[3] Videos of the disaster were widely shared on social media, showing cars and houses being dragged by landslides.[9][10] By February 21, the death toll reached 176,[11] including at least 27 children and teenagers.[12] As of February 28, the death toll has risen to 231, with 5 people still missing.[1][2] This event is the deadliest flood and mudslide in Petrópolis' history, exceeding the 1988 event which left 171 dead.[13]

Impacts

The damages from the floods and mudslides exceeded 1 billion Brazilian reals when considering reconstruction costs.[14] The estimated loss is 665 million reals from the municipality's gross domestic product (GDP), equivalent to 2%, in data that considers only the direct impact. On top of that, over 78 million reals worth of goods were damaged.[15]

Reactions

The city hall of Petrópolis declared three days of mourning.[16]

Cláudio Castro, the governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro compared the situation to that of a war zone: "The situation is almost like war ... Cars hanging from poles, cars overturned, lots of mud and water still."[7][16]

President Jair Bolsonaro, who was on a diplomatic trip to Russia and Hungary at the time of the flooding, expressed solidarity with the city.[3] It was later confirmed that Bolsonaro would visit Petrópolis on his return to Brazil.[17] The Brazilian federal government also announced that it would give R$2.3 million to the city.[18]

The Ministry of Health stated they would help the situation by providing medical resources. They also informed that 13 Basic Health Units (UBS) and one Emergency Care Unit (UPA) were damaged by the floods.[19]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 de Moura, Felipe (2022-02-28). "Petrópolis: Tragédia já tem 231 mortos; 5 ainda estão desaparecidos" [Petrópolis: Tragedy already has 231 dead; 5 are still missing]. Band Rio (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2022-02-28. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
  2. 1 2 "Brazil: Death toll from rains in Petrópolis rises to 231". The Rio Times. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Survivors dig for loved ones as Brazil flood death toll reaches 105". Associated Press. February 17, 2022. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022 – via The Guardian.
  4. ↑ Berta, Ruben (2022-02-17). "Petrópolis sabia de 15 mil imóveis em risco na área da tragédia desde 2017" [Petrópolis knew since 2017 that fifteen thousand properties in the area were at risk]. noticias.uol.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2022-02-17. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  5. ↑ Moreira, Matheus (2022-02-16). "Petrópolis deveria ter sido evacuada após alerta há 2 dias, diz especialista". Folha de S.Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  6. ↑ "Risk in Petrópolis went from moderate to very high in less than two hours; see chronology of the tragedy". Folha de S.Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2022-02-19. Archived from the original on 2022-02-22. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  7. 1 2 Rodrigues, Diarlei; Biller, David (2022-02-16). "Death toll rises to 78 from mudslides after storm in Brazil". AP NEWS. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2022-02-20. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  8. ↑ Marcella Duarte (2022-02-17). UOL (ed.). "Petrópolis teve chuva de um mês em poucas horas; veja como medição funciona". Archived from the original on 2022-02-18. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  9. ↑ Real, Nayani (2022-02-16). "#Hashtag: Chuva em Petrópolis é associada à crise climática nas redes" [#Hashtag: Rains in Petrópolis is associated to the crisis climate in social media]. Folha de S.Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  10. ↑ Carvalho, Bruna; Couto, Camille (2022-02-16). "Desastre provocado pelas fortes chuvas deixa 104 mortos em Petrópolis (RJ)" [Disaster caused by heavy rains leaves 94 dead in Petrópolis (RJ)]. CNN Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  11. ↑ Gaier, Rodrigo Viga (21 February 2022). "Death toll in Brazil's Petropolis mudslides, floods hits 176; more than 110 missing". Reuters. Archived from the original on 21 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  12. ↑ "Petrópolis: More than 120 still missing in Brazil flood-hit city". bbc.com. BBC. 2022-02-21. Archived from the original on 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
  13. ↑ "Com 178 mortos, tragédia em Petrópolis é a maior já registrada na história do município". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2022-02-27. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  14. ↑ "Petrópolis perdeu pelo menos R$ 665 milhões no PIB com tragédia, diz Firjan". CNN Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2022-02-25. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  15. ↑ "Comércio de Petrópolis tem prejuízo de mais de R$ 78 mi, mostra Fecomércio". economia.uol.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2022-02-18. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  16. 1 2 Gaier, Rodrigo Viga (2022-02-16). "Heavy rains, flooding kill dozens in Brazil's 'Imperial City'". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  17. ↑ "Chuva em Petrópolis: Presidente irá à cidade na sexta, diz Flávio Bolsonaro" (in Brazilian Portuguese). UOL. 2022-02-16. Archived from the original on 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  18. ↑ "Após chuvas, governo federal libera repasse de R$ 2,3 mi para Petrópolis". UOL (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2022-02-17. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  19. ↑ Cardim, Maria Eduarda (2022-02-17). "Queiroga viaja a Petrópolis e calcula danos em 13 unidades básicas de Saúde". Correio Braziliense (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2022-02-17. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
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