in Buriticupu, the ground is giving way under the city

In Brazil, locals call them “voçorocas”, understanding the “torn earth”. All around the town of Buriticupu, built on the hillside, 26 giant craters seem to engulf the houses and streets. This phenomenon appeared in the 1990s, but it has worsened with the force of climate change and increasingly intense rains. For the moment, no deaths have been reported, but the advance of the “voçorocas” worries those who live on the edge of the precipice. “Pieces of earth are falling. It makes the house shake”, testifies a man. Like him, hundreds of residents are in danger.

A social crisis

Faced with the emergency, the city declared “state of public calamity” and called on the government to help. Audits have been launched, so far without success. In the meantime, social services are scouring working-class neighborhoods looking for temporary solutions. “We have a total of 320 families on the emergency list. Every time the crater increases, we add names to the list”, indicates a social worker. For geographers who study the region’s soils, there is no doubt. It is the uncontrolled urbanization of the city which has gradually dried up the soil.