Civilians help with rescues in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, in the floods that hit the state. Photo by Alex Rocha/PMPA, used with permission
Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil, is going through the worst climate disaster in its history. From April 28 onward, a major part of its territory, about the size of the United Kingdom, has been submerged underwater. The heavy rains soon transformed into violent floods, impacting over 1.4 million people, with at least 100 people confirmed dead, according to reports published May 8. Entering its sixth day of flooding, the state capital, Porto Alegre, is now facing a shortage of drinking water.
Under such critical circumstances, it is crucial to understand how this situation escalated so rapidly and consider how intentional city planning might prevent it from repeating itself.
Mariana Bernardes is an architect and urbanist from Passo Fundo, in the northern portion of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is also among the 425 out of 497 affected, with floods isolated to certain regions of the city.
Bernardes’ work focuses on humanizing structural problems with planning, technical responsibility, and social commitment. In an interview with Global Voices, she spoke about what could have been done to prevent the floods in Brazil and what can be done as communities look to collective reconstruction.
Global Voices (GV): The floods in southern Brazil demonstrate a series of failures and omissions, especially by the State. How could a humanized view of architecture and urbanism have prevented parts of this ongoing tragedy?
