After historical rainfall, floods, broken dams, 5,000 homeless
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Ouro Preto and surrounding area is in a state of calamity. The past month aside from the dam burst, there have been floods, craters opening on highways as big as two football pitches, slices of canyons dropping and mudslides. This has contributed to over 5000 displaced homeless and counting, mostly descendants of African slaves or the most poor still living in high risk areas because they had no other choice
The good news is that there has been Minimal human deaths due to the vigilant rescue, response, awareness and evacuation work done by an under financed civil defense Corp along with citizen volunteers. This has been miraculous but now Geologists are warning that more mudslides are eminent. We in the field are on high alert and in a tireless struggle evacuating one area after the other as each becomes identified.
The rains stopped but the earth will heat and expand the subsurface now saturated by the recent rain. A heatwave is expected with over 50 degrees Celsius, temperatures unheard of even in Brazil. All of this makes for a perfect storm and domino effect that will last for years, add the fact that the area is still home to over 350 dams all insured considered as just “ calculated risks “ so we have a time bomb ready to blow.
What are we doing? What are your donations for?
- Crews 24 hours surveying for earth movements or cracks
- Awareness and evacuation, the window of time from when the rains stop and the sun shines creates a false sense of security and hope. People that were evacuated want to return to their homes. The non evacuated don’t believe they need to leave yet as mentioned above this is the most dangerous phase. Even with engineers and geologists warning of eminent collapse of entire neighborhoods, denial is human nature
- Family size tents are needed for temporary housing to help persuade the citizens that don’t want to stay in shelters and or with family or friends. Aside from the existing pandemic some feel more dignity and freedom even in a simple shelter as a tent.
- Fans for the intense heat forecasted, mosquito nets and repellent will protect against disease
- Psychological and natural-path support and yoga
- Folding furniture, assesories, lighting, generators and flash lights
- Bicycles and other transportation options
- Inflatable rafts and life jackets
- Bull horns and siren systems
- Notebooks and phones ( many were lost in floods or mudslides while working in home office )
