The greatest of all tragedies

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Rain in Brazil
The greatest of all tragedies

Landslides [1] in the mountain region of Rio de Janeiro have killed hundreds of people.  Thiscatastrophe was no surprise. In recent decades, hundreds of cities in several states have suffered from floods [2]  and landslides. There has been a lack of [3] effort to prevent construction inareas at risk

Rain, rain and more rain. Hill-slides [4], rivers bursting [5] their banks. People dying and thousands of homes being destroyed.  These scenes have been repeated over and over in many Brazilian states in recent decades, especially in the summer months. The worst of all the tragedies took place on January 11 and 12, in the mountain region ofRio de Janeiro.  The cities most affected were Nova Friburgo, Teresopólis, and Petrópolis. Up to January 31 the death toll [6] had reached 870 and more than 400 people were still missing [7]. The rain left nearly 30,000 people displaced [8] or homeless [94], and caused losses to the region's agricultural production. According to the United Nations (UN), extreme weather events will become more common in the coming years (see full story on the next page).

The root [10] of the problem
The Brazilian population has grown in recent decades.  Cities have grown, but chaotically.   Many people (especially the poorest) have had to build their homes in areas near rivers or hills, which are at risk from landslides and floods. The government has been unable to stop people building their homes in hazardous [11] locations. While cities are expanding, untouched areas [12] have been destroyed by deforestation [13]. It should be remembered that vegetation is vital, to absorb rainwater. According to Greenpeace, the rate of deforestation of the Atlantic Forest [14] has reached 34,000 hectares a year. In Rio de Janeiro, the state hit hardest [15] by the rains, over 80% of the forest has been cleared. Meanwhile, in recent years, the volume of rainfall has been increasing... 

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Primeira parte da matéria especial sobre as chuvas no Brasil, publicada na edição de número 59 da Revista Maganews (com áudios de David e Laís Hatton).

Pictures (Nova Friburgo) - Valter Campanato/ABr

Vocabulary

1 landslide – deslizamento

2 floods – inundações

3 lack of – falta de

4 hill-slides – aqui = morros deslizando

5 rivers bursting their banks – rios transbordando

6 death toll – número (total) de mortos

7 missing – aqui = desaparecida (s)

8 displaced – desalojada

9 homeless – sem casa / desabrigado

10 root - raiz

11 hazardous – perigoso

12 untouched áreas – áreas verdes

13 deforestation – desmatamento

14 Atlantic Forest – Mata Atlântica

15 hardest – de forma mais dura / intensa