Social Vulnerability to Environmental Disasters in the Paraopeba River Watershed, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

Abstract The increase in the number of environmental disasters, in recent years, has led to a reorientation of research and programs. This study proposes a set of 16 theoretically significant variables to measure and map vulnerability in Brazil, after about a major socioenvironmental disaster in Brazil, also considered one of the biggest in the world. They were grouped into three indicators, social, economic, and infrastructure aspects of the population, obtained from the Brazilian census database. The Córrego do Feijão tailings dam, in Brumadinho, and the Casa de Pedra tailings dam, in Congonhas were taken as case studies. The vulnerability of 48 municipalities and 3,732 census sectors from the Paraopeba River Watershed were explored from two different perspectives: where the disaster has already happened and where it could happen. The index and indicators used were developed in the open-source software and the maps in a geographic information system (SIG). The results show considerable variability. The most vulnerable municipalities are in the lower part of the watershed while the High Paraopeba region is less vulnerable. This paper presents methodological and empirical contributions of the social dimensions of vulnerability the preparation, response, and recovery of affected communities to environmental disasters.