According to the survey, the most impacted states are Santa Catarina, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and São Paulo.| Photo: Tomaz Silva/Agência Brasil

Data from the Geological Survey of Brazil, linked to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, points out that more than 3.9 million Brazilians live in 13,297 areas at risk of landslides and floods in the country. Of these, 4,006 locations are classified as “very high risk”. The number of areas classified as “high risk” is 9,291.

According to the survey, the most impacted states are Santa Catarina, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and São Paulo. One of the reasons given by the study is the relevant geological factor, explained the executive coordinator of the Mapping Program for Areas of Geological Risk, Julio Lana, geologist and researcher at the Geological Service (SGB).

“These states have a large part of the relief characterized by very mountainous areas, the municipalities are partially settled on sloping land, hills and mountainous regions and naturally are areas subject to slope instability processes – landslides. In addition, these are states that have considerable hydrographic (areas), with very important rivers and large land occupied on the banks of these rivers, which subjects the population to suffer from flooding events,” said Lana, in a statement reproduced by the Brazil Agency.