Northeast Brazil Faces Heaviest Rainfall in Two Decades
In May 2009, after nearly two months of constant rain, the downpours finally abated in northeast Brazil leaving a path of destruction in their wake. Faced with the heaviest rainfall their country had seen in two decades, residents of the affected communities—some of the poorest in Brazil—found their lives at a standstill. With homes and businesses submerged in water, ActionAid began assisting affected communities.
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In Trizidela Do Vale, residents were without potable water for a month and relied on floodwater to bathe and wash their clothes in. The situation was even harder in neighboring Pedreiras where floodwaters mixed with sewage to create a breeding ground for mosquitoes and illnesses like diarrhea. With the local children’s hospital forced to close due to flooding, the town’s only dry hospital operated at twice its capacity.
In both towns, residents also faced additional challenges. Profiteers demanded payment to transport people across the flooded streets by boat. Currents from motorboats destroyed houses that had survived the flood. And, by night, thieves used canoes to rob abandoned stores and homes.
ActionAid was quick to respond to the crisis, providing crucial support to government efforts addressing the situation. Through a local partner, ActionAid distributed mosquito repellent, toiletries and hammocks as part of a 16-item packet given to 2,500 people.
For Maria Joana, a young mother, the ActionAid packet provided relief. After floodwaters destroyed her home in Pedreiras, Maria built a shelter out of palm fronds. The hammock and mosquito net Maria received from ActionAid also allowed her to protect her 9-day-old baby.
Maria Joana, 25, stands in front of the palm-frond shack she built after floodwater destroyed her house in Pedreiras. Inside, her 9-day-old baby sleeps under a mosquito net and hammock that were donated by ActionAid.
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Although flooding is not new to Brazil, it has intensified in recent years, killing dozens and leaving hundreds of thousands more people homeless each year. Following some of the worst droughts in the region in decades, Brazil’s summer flooding in 2009 showcases the devastating toll climate change and deforestation are having around the globe.
According to a United Nations human development report, those living in the global south are 79 times more likely to experience droughts, floods and storms than those living in richer countries. Yet, it is developed countries that have created the climate change problem through overconsumption and high pollution levels.
To combat deforestation, ActionAid is promoting sustainable agriculture in Brazil. Working alongside local partners, ActionAid is helping poor farmers diversify their crops, make their own organic fertilizer and prevent rainwater from draining off their land.
Internationally, ActionAid is urging leaders of industrialized nations to assist developing countries adapting to climate change though sustainable agriculture. United Nation's agencies estimate that the global costs of adaptation in developing countries could rise to between $67 billion and $86 billion per year.
Please join us in our efforts to assist poor nations adapting to climate change. We can end poverty. Together.
