Natural disasters in Brazil

Recent disasters in the Brazilian states of Pernambuco and Alagoas, in the country’s Northeast, pose an unwelcome—yet very real—threat, particularly for the most vulnerable communities.

Natural disasters are cyclical and have a major impact on society.

According to Brazil’s National Civil Defense, 37 municipalities and more than 50 thousand people were affected in Pernambuco; in Alagoas, 27 municipalities declared a state of calamity.

More than 38 thousand people were displaced and eight deaths were recorded.

Brazil is no stranger to natural hazards. Most of its frequent, high-impact events are hydrometeorological—droughts, heavy rainfall, and landslides.

Some municipalities in traditionally drought-prone Northeastern states have been struck by floods (with rising frequency over the past decade), while the South is regularly hit by intense rain, wind, hail, hurricanes, and tropical storms.

Because Brazil spans a continental-sized territory, it is exposed to a large number of natural phenomena—an important challenge for governments and society alike.

Although the number and cost of natural disasters have risen sharply in recent decades, it was only in 2011—after a catastrophic event in Rio de Janeiro’s mountain region claimed more than a thousand lives—that the federal government began taking sustained action.

At its request, the World Bank quickly set up a Disaster Risk Management (DRM) team in June 2011.

Close collaboration with national and subnational authorities has since led to significant advances on the DRM agenda.

Six years of work in Brazil

By focusing on the relationship between natural hazards and asset exposure, the World Bank generated new knowledge for public officials and mobilized financing across many jurisdictions.

As a government partner, the Bank delivered a series of technical-assistance products to build the country’s capacity to identify and mitigate disaster risks.

By late 2012, Damage and Loss Assessments (DaLAs) for Santa Catarina (2008), Pernambuco and Alagoas (2010), and Rio de Janeiro (2011)—all based on post-event data—estimated total costs at R$ 15.3 billion: R$ 9.4 billion in damage and R$ 5.9 billion in losses.

Although costs were split between the private (48 percent) and public (52 percent) sectors, governments bore much of the burden because low-income households were heavily affected.

Only late last year did we fully grasp the scale of disasters’ economic impact, thanks to a joint study by the World Bank and the Federal University of Santa Catarina.

Concentrating on the quality and generation of data from 22,810 disaster reports filed between 1995 and 2014, the study showed that Brazil’s disaster-related losses averaged roughly R$ 800 million per month—about US$ 183 billion over 19 years.

The data also reveal that both the frequency and magnitude of natural disasters have risen since 2000.

Urban planning and climate change

To curb predictable economic losses, the World Bank recognizes the need for stronger, strategically targeted technical products in Brazil.

One example is the first flood-forecasting model for Santa Catarina.

Aimed at expanding the region’s DRM knowledge base, the study identifies exposure of assets and people to flood events and enables regional authorities and institutions to incorporate practical DRM information into day-to-day activities and decision-making.

Conclusion

Again, it was only late last year—through the World Bank/UFSC study—that Brazil fully understood the extent to which disasters affect its economy: roughly R$ 800 million in losses every month since 1995, totaling some US$ 183 billion.

The evidence shows a clear upward trend in both frequency and severity since 2000, underscoring the urgent link between urban-planning challenges and climate change.

Information source: blogs.worldbank.org

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