Brazilians are scrambling to high land and desperately conducting rescue efforts as heavy rain that started on January 1 continues to flood the country; meteorologists bleakly forecast that the rain will persist for the next few days. Considering that 950 natural catastrophes hit in 2010 (the second-highest number since 1980), this is hardly a reassuring start to the new year.
Australia is also experiencing a record-breaking flood — its worst in 50 years — that has killed at least 25 and may cost the nation $5 billion. Brazil’s flash floods and mudslides, triggered by a seemingly apocalyptic 14-plus inches of rain, have destroyed infrastructure and forced flight cancellations in countless airports across the globe.
More horrifying, however, is the nation’s mounting death toll. At least 500 have died in the perilous conditions; Brazilians report their families being torn apart by lethal walls of water and earth. Rescue workers are sifting through the mud and rubble with hopes of finding some of the thousands reported missing. Many of those who survived the event are stranded (the Civil Defense Department estimates 14,000) among the wreckage as homes collapse and officials order more evacuations. Schools and hospitals have become makeshift shelters and morgues.
President Dilma Rousseff flew to Nova Friburgo, one of the Brazilian towns most affected by the deluge (Teresopolis and Petropolis are the other two), yesterday to inspect the damage. Though only just sworn in as president on January 1, Rousseff is probably feeling the heat from those clamoring for an explanation of how this disaster wasn’t better anticipated.
According to Rio de Janeiro Governor Sergio Cabral, these cities’ populations have quadrupled in the last few decades, motivating officials to allow illegal construction on precipitous hillsides to handle the boom, despite the risks of living there — risks now evident as these homes built on mountain slopes cascade into the water. And although this marks the fourth consecutive year of devastating rainfall in Brazil, the staggering numbers of dead and missing citizens show a disturbing lack of preparedness. One can only hope that this disaster will inspire Brazilian authorities to take more proactive and preventative measures in protecting the country from torrential storms.