It should be more appropriate to describe the current situation of many countries in the Amazon River basin that have been hit by floods and epidemics in the past few days.
Affected by heavy rains for several consecutive months, the main road and many branches of the Amazon River exceeded the warning line and surged across the dams to the surrounding towns and villages. The sudden visit of this flood made Brazil one of the worst-hit countries.
"King of the River" Amazon
The Amazon River is the second longest river in the world. Although its length (6,437 kilometers) is shorter than that of the Nile River (6,650 kilometers), it is a real "flow responsibility". Its estuary flow can reach 219,000 cubic meters per second, which is much more than the combined flows of the Nile and Yangtze Rivers.
The Amazon River and its tributaries, which run through Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname, and Guyana—the eight countries in South America—have facilitated navigation through these countries. The Amazon River has pleasant scenery and rich species, but at the same time, this ferocious river also brings many hidden dangers to humans, such as floods caused by extreme drought and seasonal rainfall.
Although floods are nothing new, according to the records of the Amazon River’s over 100 years of rising water, the frequency and severity of extreme droughts and floods have shown a clear upward trend in recent years.
On May 16, 2021, Manaus, Brazil, a residential area was hit by floods
Residents of small cities along the Amazon River have changed their motorcycles to canoes.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the water level of the Amazon River has been recorded daily by the Port of Manaus in Brazil. At the beginning of the 20th century, water levels above 29 meters occurred approximately once every 20 years. Today’s situation is that, on average, severe floods occur once every four years, five times more frequently than in the last century.
According to the research of Professor Jonathan Barichivich of Southern University of Chile, floods occurred almost every year in the Amazon Plain from 2009 to 2015, which was unimaginable in the past. Moreover, consecutive weeks of heavy rainfall not only brought about floods, but also brought pollution of drinking water and the spread of diseases, causing fatal damage to agriculture and animal husbandry. When rescuing victims in many places, they also rescued the wild animals, poultry and livestock that were strayed.
Partially flooded and partly droughty, Brazil is cracked to survive
Due to continuous precipitation, residents of small cities along the Amazon River have changed their motorcycles to canoes.
Anamão, a small city in northern Brazil, has the reputation of "The Venice of the Amazon", but the floods affected the lives of nearly 350,000 people in the area, which was the hardest hit this century has suffered. Similarly, in the northwestern Acre state, the lives of at least 130,000 people have been affected, and the affected residents have been moved to temporary shelters such as churches, stadiums, and schools. In the small village of Taraoaka, also located in the northwest, 90% of the land has been swallowed up by floods, and many victims have not been moved out.
An international metropolis like Sao Paulo has also become a "big puddle." The city was "paralyzed" for at least two days due to the interruption of the city's main roads and roads leading to other areas, becoming an "isolated island" isolated from the world. Many trucks were trapped due to heavy rain, and tons of cargo were lost in the rain, causing heavy losses.
The flood crisis in Sao Paulo is not entirely a "natural disaster", but contains certain human factors. There used to be about 300 rivers and creeks in the city of São Paulo, but now they are covered by row upon row of tall buildings and disappear into this city with a population of 12.33 million. Excessive paving concealed the canals passing through the city, the impermeable flagstones prevented the ground from absorbing water, and the rampant deforestation of some Amazonian virgin forests in Brazil weakened the ability to regulate the climate, and the heat island effect produced by the metropolis would have Attracting more rainwater...The vicious circle formed by such over-construction has led to intensified rainwater, and even road surface water, triggering waterlogging.
Brazilian architects and urban planning experts have already proposed many solutions. For example, replan certain areas of the city to increase soil permeability; or build reservoirs on slopes so that rainwater can be effectively blocked before it reaches the floodplains in the lower part of the city; or follow the United States New York’s approach is to build "rain gardens" on both sides of the road, allowing water to flow into the slope of the garden or into the entrance of the sewer along the edge of the road, reducing road surface water, and even lowering the street temperature when the weather is hot. However, according to the actual situation in Sao Paulo, 100,000 such "rain gardens" may need to be built to ensure the normal operation of the entire city.
On June 27, 2021, Sao Paulo, Brazil, due to drought, Brazil's coffee bean production declined. The picture shows a coffee factory worker drying coffee beans
It is said that there must be a major epidemic after a major disaster, and the impact of the flood has not yet ended. The Brazilian people will also face the double attack of dengue fever and the still-raging new crown epidemic. In some areas, doctors went from house to house in canoes and kayaks to vaccinate the affected residents for dengue fever and the new crown.
While Brazil is experiencing torrential rains in the north, the southeast and midwest are facing extreme droughts. Five of these states are facing the most sparse rainfall in 91 years. The country’s Ministry of Agriculture even issued a "Drought Emergency Warning", stating that this extreme water shortage may continue until September...
Peru and Colombia are in trouble
In addition to Brazil in South America, neighboring Peru and Colombia were also severely affected.
In 2017, affected by the El Niño phenomenon, Peru's destroyed more than 300,000 houses, more than 400 schools, 4,400 kilometers of roads and more than 500 bridges have not been completely repaired. This year's floods put the country into trouble again.
Especially in the Madre de Tíos region in southeastern Peru, more than 15,000 people were forced to leave their former homes, nearly 40,000 houses were destroyed, and more than 1,500 families were living without water. Waiting for rescue in an electric environment. In addition, more than 4,000 hectares of crops were damaged, including bananas, corn, cocoa and other crops.
The abnormal rainfall in the Amazon Basin is caused by the warming of the Atlantic Ocean and the cooling of the Pacific Ocean.
While the floods are raging, the new crown virus has not slowed down. On the one hand, the Peruvian people are struggling to fight the floods, on the other hand they are also fighting stubbornly against the new crown. The country's death toll from the new crown is approaching 200,000, ranking second in South America. In some areas, the supply of oxygen tanks is insufficient, and the situation of patients with the new crown is very worrying.
Colombia, which has twice as many confirmed infections as Peru, was swept over most of its territory by heavy rains that lasted three and a half months. In the early stage of precipitation, some experts predicted that the rainstorm would last until mid-June, but according to this scenario, I am afraid that such rainstorm will not end until August. Among them, Guajira, Cesar, Magdalena and other provinces suffered more serious losses.
Amazon River Basin
According to information from the local Ocean Institute in Colombia, 4.9% of the farmland and pastures in the Caribbean coast are threatened by floods, and 44.8% of the coastal road network has been damaged. 17% of the land on the island of San Andres, a resort in the country, was flooded, and infrastructure such as major roads, airports and hotels were also threatened.
Causes and solutions
Studies have shown that one of the reasons for frequent flooding in the Amazon Basin is the strengthening of Walker circulation.
This ocean current is "caused by differences in temperature and pressure on the tropical ocean" and can affect weather patterns and rainfall in the tropics and other regions. The abnormal rainfall in the Amazon Basin is caused by the warming of the Atlantic Ocean and the cooling of the Pacific Ocean. The impact of this circulation is opposite to the El Niño phenomenon. The former mostly brings precipitation and floods in the northern and central parts of the Amazon Plain, while the latter causes drought.
When it comes to changes in ocean temperature, especially the warming of the Atlantic Ocean, we have to mention a word that we are all too familiar with, that is, "global warming." From the melting of glaciers, the extinction of species, the rising of sea levels and the flooding of cities and towns, to the frequent flood seasons of the Amazon River nowadays, droughts and floods occur alternately... These series of changes are urging human beings to do something.
So, what can we do?
According to statistics, 23% of greenhouse gases are produced by activities related to land use such as animal husbandry, forestry, and agriculture. Most of these agricultural activities are to provide us with sufficient food. But sometimes the food we can eat is not cherished by us. 25% to 30% of the food will be wasted by us. The carbon footprint of food waste every year is equivalent to the emission of 3.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In this way, it is closely related to our lives and is the smallest step that each of us can do to protect the environment, which is not to waste food. The torrential rains and floods in the Amazon Basin have sounded the alarm for us. "Low-carbon" and "environmental protection" should be more than just talk.
I hope that the next rainy season will not be so long, and that the Amazon Plain and the Amazon River will return to their former tranquility as soon as possible.
