One year after the worst flooding in the south of Brazil, the pattern repeats itself: intense rains once again lash the Amazonas region, with devastating consequences. More than two million people were affected back then, and currently, the situation threatens to exceed that mark.
Images of flooded streets and evacuated families once again dominate the scene. The combination of climate change, disorderly occupation, and poor infrastructure multiplies the damages.
Far from being isolated events, floods intertwine with severe droughts, forming a destructive cycle that is becoming more frequent in various areas of Brazil.
This extreme alternation reflects the urgency of implementing lasting solutions. Specialists agree that reconstruction without transformation is a recipe for failure.
Floods in Brazil
Droughts and Floods in the Amazon
The state of Amazonas is experiencing a critical situation: in just two years, it went from recording its worst droughts in six decades to facing historic floods. Currently, 20 municipalities are in a state of emergency and 37 others are on alert.
More than 200,000 people have already been affected by the rise of the Negro, Solimões, and Amazon rivers, which reached record levels. In Manacapuru, the Solimões river exceeded 21 meters, submerging streets, homes, and crops.
The situation worsens with the forecast of more rain until June. The most vulnerable areas are practically flooded, and many families depend on boats to move around what used to be dirt roads.
Local crops, the economic base of the region, are also suffering. Products such as cassava, bananas, and mallow were swept away by the water, leaving thousands of farmers without livelihoods.
Tragic floods in southern Brazil, in Amazonas.
Environmental and Social Impact
Images of houses raised on barely visible stilts illustrate the magnitude of the problem. Many of these structures, adapted to seasonal floods, are currently insufficient in the face of a climate that no longer respects patterns.
The impact is not only material. The loss of crops like mallow, used in traditional crafts, also threatens the local culture. Farmers are torn between salvaging what they can and accepting total losses.
The cause of these climatic extremes goes beyond the La Niña phenomenon. The advance of deforestation and global warming, according to Brazilian scientists, are intensifying both rainfall and droughts.
Faced with this scenario, experts insist on the need for comprehensive policies. It is not just about mitigating damage, but about rethinking the relationship between development, environment, and urban planning. The rains do not stop, the waters rise, and the Amazon, witness to an unprecedented crisis, demands responses as profound as they are urgent.
