For Brazil, Devastating Rain Is an Urban Planning Problem
In the states of Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco, natural disasters fueled by climate change highlight longstanding challenges of urbanization.
People try to rescue items from cars destroyed by a flash flood in Petrópolis, Brazil, in early 2022.
Photographer: Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images
Brazil has been hit by a wave of disasters since the beginning of the year. In February, torrential rains killed more than 200 people in Petrópolis in two consecutive tragedies — one of which was the worst, as measured by lives lost, in the city’s history. Weeks later, also in the state of Rio de Janeiro, at least 16 people died in a crisis caused by heavy rains, with landslides and streets turning into rivers. Shortly after that, in the northeastern city of Recife, more than 100 died in landslides or drowned after months of downpours.
Some infrastructural improvements have been made over the years, but the dangers remain. It seems like every year, cities flood while the media reports, “It rained more than expected.” No one ever seems prepared for more rain than expected.