Residents fear new disaster in place hit by rains in Pernambuco

The fear of a new tragedy caused by heavy rains still leaves the residents of Jardim Monte Verde afflicted. Almost six months later, the community located between Recife and Jaboatão dos Guararapes (PE) still has houses in risk areas, unprotected barriers and properties not demolished in danger zones.

Climate change was responsible for intensifying the storms that occurred in the Northeast region in 2022, shows a study revealed by Sheet🇧🇷 In addition to Pernambuco, Bahia also had floods this year.

Heavy rains caused 129 deaths between the end of May and the beginning of June in Pernambuco. Jardim Monte Verde was the place most affected by the disaster, with at least 21 deaths —which, according to specialists, could have been avoided if there had been planning, effective application of resources and prevention in the risk area. Other states such as Alagoas, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe were also affected.

Without global warming, the events that occurred would be one fifth less intense, according to the researchers responsible for the study.

Among the residents of Jardim Monte Verde, the prevailing feeling is that of abandonment by the government. Rosângela Maria do Nascimento, 42, is unemployed and depends on Auxílio Brasil and extra activities to live. In addition to the difficulty of everyday life, she has the mishap of post-rainfall in the neighborhood where she lives.

Because of the May disaster, she had to leave her residence, which was considered at risk by the Civil Defense. In recent weeks, Rosângela has chosen to return home. She claims that she no longer has the money to pay rent on the property she was in.

“Nobody comes to decide what they are going to do, and each one wants to go back to their house and without receiving anything. I paid R$ 300 per month [de aluguel] and, in August, I returned to my house”, he says. “We are at the mercy of cockroaches.”

A resident of the place for more than 20 years, Rosângela circulates daily through the neighborhood with her son José Carlisson Oliveira da Silva, 5. The two returned to the residence, even in the face of dangerous conditions with new rains.

In addition to fear, the housewife overcomes the pain of losing 12 relatives in the tragedy of the rains. Her biggest concern is about the rainy season next year, traditionally between May and July.

Another complaint from residents of the locality is a possible stalemate of actions between the city halls of Recife and Jaboatão dos Guararapes. As Jardim Monte Verde is on the border of the two cities, residents say that there is difficulty in accessing services and complain about the transfer from one city to another without a solution.

“Until the tragedy, we were [do] Recife. Afterwards, we found out that [aqui] it was Jaboatao. On the light bill, come [com o endereço do] Recife. In the water one, from Jaboatão”, says public transport driver Reginaldo Ramos Feitosa, 55.

Feitosa has been away from work since his daughter, Thaís Regina, 31, died buried. The young woman was a recent graduate of engineering. He was left without psychological conditions to return behind the wheel.

On the morning of the tragedy, Feitosa, his wife and daughter were at home. In seconds, the residence went down along with the barrier.

The driver has follow-up sessions with a psychologist and psychiatrist. Depending on the diagnoses of the next session, he may return to work.

“We were planning to leave here, my daughter had started working 15 days ago. Her dream was interrupted”, says Reginaldo, who was buried in the rubble, but survived. His wife is still recovering from a broken knee caused by the landslide.

Several residents interviewed by the Sheet in Jardim Monte Verde complain about lack of access to water from Compesa (Companhia Pernambucana de Saneamento). They say that the electricity bill is up to date and that it arrives normally, unlike the water supply.

“We make do with the water that the neighborhood gives us. People who have a well [doam]🇧🇷 Compesa keeps charging, I’m feeling embarrassed”, alleges João Francisco da Silva, 37, who is unemployed and does temporary work to ensure income.

The construction of walls to protect the barriers and to restore homes has not yet taken place, according to residents.

“When it rains, no one sleeps. It’s everyone leaving their homes, pulling cars out of the garages afraid the barrier will come down and take everything. A horror scenario with everyone in panic, we are traumatized.”

Jardim Monte Verde is characterized by several single-storey houses or first-floor properties. There is a more stable area, with no connection to the barriers, and others that are fixed in the surrounding hills.

However, the risk is present among people with residences in both groups, since, when the May disaster occurred, the force of the landslide dragged houses that were on the slopes and took along part of the properties with foundations on flat land.

For researcher Lincoln Alves, from Inpe (National Institute for Space Research), investments in early warnings and local governance systems can help prevent possible new disasters.

The focus in the short term, according to the scientist, should be to guide people on how to reduce the risks they run in the face of potential damage in new extreme weather events. Alves is one of the authors of the research on the potential for damage due to climate change.

“It is a poor population, with an infrastructure that is very vulnerable to extreme phenomena. It is fundamental that the public authorities look at two aspects: informing people in advance so that people can manage risk and, in the long term, improving the infrastructure, involving quality of houses, sanitation, roads.”

Lincoln Alves also points out that the environmental and climate policies of cities must be aligned with those of the federal government for greater effectiveness of public management actions.

“Cities need to connect to national politics. In my view, there is a disconnect between local politics and national politics these days.”

In a note, Recife City Hall said it will invest in the communities of Jardim Monte Verde and Vila dos Milagres, another place affected by the rains in May and June. “The barriers will be restructured and will gain containment and drainage services”, he says. Municipal management did not provide deadlines.

The city hall stated that it is carrying out actions to permanently contain slopes in 30 risk areas of the city, with investments of around R$ 60 million. He also said that there are two slope containment works already started in the locality, and other streets have already been benefited.

The City Hall of Jaboatão dos Guararapes claimed, through a note, that it delivered five retaining walls in October. Management also promises that another 121 works will start in the first week of December in the municipality. Of these, 39 will be in Monte Verde, according to the administration.

The city hall did not detail whether the works in Monte Verde are among those that will begin in early December.

The administration of Jaboatão also said that it “sent a request for the construction of 308 properties to the federal government for families that had their properties destroyed or need to be demolished, but is still awaiting evaluation” and that it concludes “a specific program aimed at risk areas, which should have its pilot in Jardim Monte Verde”.

The report contacted Compesa, but did not receive a response about the lack of water mentioned by some residents of Jardim Monte Verde.

_{The Planeta em Transe project is supported by the Open Society Foundations.}