Understanding the “fallen lands” phenomenon that has left more than 200 people homeless due to the Amazon drought

Understanding the “fallen lands” phenomenon that has left more than 200 people homeless due to the Amazon drought


The collapse of long walls highlights the risk to which residents of these areas are exposed

The collapse of long walls a banks of the Amazon riversalso known as the “fallen lands” phenomenon, it draws attention to the strength of nature and, on the one hand, highlights the risk to which the inhabitants of these areas are exposed.

Last Saturday, the 30th, a landslide on the banks of the Purus river, a tributary of the Solimões river, caused two deaths and left more than 200 homeless in the community of Arumã, in the Amazonian municipality of Beruri (263 kilometers from Manaus). According to the municipality, three people are still missing.

Doctor in Territorial and Environmental Planning, geographer José Alberto Lima de Carvalho is a specialist in the phenomenon of fallen lands. He explains that landslides are multifactorial and can reach kilometers long walls.

“It is a natural phenomenon responsible for the constant modification of the river landscape of the Amazon River. It derives from the simplest to the most complex processes and includes slips, landslides, landslides and collapses that sometimes occur on an almost imperceptible scale, which it ranges from punctual, recurring and not rare, even catastrophic, which in many cases affects distances of kilometers,” he says.

For the geographer, the collapse of the Arumã community could have been caused by at least two factors. “Due to the location of Vila de Arumã relative to the Purus River, my interpretation is that the landslide was mainly caused by the saturation of material on the banks of the tributary and in the Igarapé do Arumã valley,” he explains.

Dry

The Amazon region is currently experiencing one of the most severe droughts ever recorded by official rulers. The Negro River, which flows through Manaus, measured 15.29 meters this Monday 2nd. Only 1.66 meters remain to reach the historic level (13.63 metres) recorded in 2010.

According to the weekly bulletin of the Brazilian Geological Survey (CPRM), the level of the Solimões river reached a level of -43 centimeters on September 22. This is also the second largest drought recorded for the tributary, with measurements “below normal for the period”, according to the CPRM.

According to the geographer José Alberto Lima, it is common for the phenomenon of landslides to become more frequent during periods of dry rivers. “Low tide plays an important role in fallen lands, since the higher the low tide, the higher the gorge becomes. As a result, the so-called ‘shear force’, associated with the force of gravity, increases,” he points out.

Other events

The case of the Arumã community had national repercussions due to the number of homeless people and the scale of the collapse, but other cases were recorded in several municipalities in the Amazon during the month of September.

Last Friday, the 29th, a collapse also on the banks of the Solimões river destroyed at least eight houses in Coari (363 kilometers from Manaus). According to the Amazon Military Police and Fire Brigade, the accident caused no injuries.

On September 16, a landslide on the banks of the Madeira river, in Manicoré (457 kilometers from Manaus), swallowed up part of a road and houses. The accident left one person injured. Weeks earlier, the city council had cleared the site, due to the risk of collapse.

Measures

According to the governor of the Amazon, Wilson Lima (União Brasil), teams of the Military Police and Civil Protection have been sent to the community of Arumã, in Beruri, to assist the victims of the collapse. Food baskets of basic necessities were distributed to the families affected by the tragedy. “Our teams are on the ground to do everything necessary. My solidarity and prayers go to the families affected,” he wrote on social media.

The Secretariat for the Environment of the Amazon (Sema) said it will deliver 150 basic food baskets, 150 personal hygiene kits, 100 20-liter water bottles and 180 chickens to residents. The objects were acquired with the support of the Amazon Protected Areas Program (ARPA), the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.

Source: Terra

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