Buriticupu in trouble: Brazilian city declares emergency as huge sinkholes appear
The Brazilian city of Buriticupu has declared a state of emergency as huge sinkholes open up, threatening hundreds of homes. Nearly 1,200 people of a population of 55,000 risk losing their homes into a broadening abyss. Many others have already lost their residences.
In the space of a just handful of months, the dimensions have expanded exponentially, approaching substantially closer to the residences, an emergency decree issued earlier this month said about the sinkholes.
The recent sinkholes in Buriticupu are an escalation of a problem that residents of the city have been seeing unfold for the last 30 years. Rains are gradually eroding soils made vulnerable by a combination of poorly planned construction, deforestation and sandy nature of the soils.
The situation becomes more difficult in periods of strong precipitation. Do authorities in Buriticupu have the capacity to find solutions for the complex sinkhole problem? It remains to be seen. Keep an eye out for further details.
