Deadly disasters in Southeastern South America: Flash floods and landslides of February 2022 in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Abstract. On February 15, 2022, the city of Petrópolis in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, received an unusually high volume of rain within three hours (258 mm). It resulted in flash floods and subsequent landslides that caused 231 fatalities, the deadliest landslide disaster recorded in Petrópolis. In this paper, we analyzed the root cause and the key triggering factors of this landslide disaster by assessing the spatial relationship of landslide occurrence with various environmental factors. Rainfall data were retrieved from 1977 to 2022, while other remote sensing data from 1985 to 2020, were utilized to map the landslide scars, soil moisture, terrain attributes, line-of-sight displacement (land surface deformation), and urban sprawling .. to. The results showed that the average rainfall for February 2022 was 200 mm, the heaviest recorded in Petrópolis since 1932. From the rainfall spatial distribution, heavy rainfall was also recorded mostly in regions where the landslide occurred. As for terrain, 23 % of slopes between 45–60° had landslide occurrences and east-facing slopes appeared to be the most conducive for landslides as they recorded landslide occurrences of about 9 to 11 %. Regarding the soil moisture, higher variability was found in the lower altitude (842 m) where the residential area is concentrated. From our land deformation assessment, the area is geologically stable, and the landslide occurred only in the thin layer at the surface of the 1,700 buildings found in the region of interest, 1,021 are on the slope between 20 to 45° and about 60 houses were directly affected by the landslides. As such, we conclude that the heavy rainfall was not the only cause responsible for the catastrophic event of February 15, 2022; a combination of unplanned urban growth on slopes between 45–60°, removal of vegetation, and the absence of inspection were also significant elements of this natural disaster.