Socorro and Socorro residents suffered strong and sad consequences of the heavy rain that occurred on January 2, 2023.

The population is mobilized to help families affected by the flooding to clean their homes and workplaces and recover the basics for living. However, along with this act of solidarity and inspiration from the population of Socorro, there must be a technical perspective to assess what happened in order to prevent other disasters from occurring and causing more damage to the population and to the economy of our municipality. 

The Peixe River was not the cause of the flooding, as occurred in the flood 40 years ago.

In 2023, what we saw was a lot of water and a lot of mud running down the hills around the urban area of Socorro, the most affected place. This torrent of muddy water coming from the mountains towards the valley, found canalized streams, houses in the place of riparian forests and impermeable soils and, prevented from being absorbed by the soil, took the space of streams, streets, houses and people. 

This result is mainly due to two factors: historical occupation of houses on the banks of rivers and streams, added to the current lack of vegetation cover in the surrounding hills, either for pastures or urban occupation; and extreme events, such as changes in rainfall levels across the globe, caused by global warming.

The small streams are capable of draining water from small rains, but with a large volume of rain, they tend to overflow. With occupations, regular or irregular subdivisions, the soil becomes impermeable and the volume of water in these small streams increases a lot, generating large and disastrous impacts. All this needs to be taken into account, in order to avoid these types of events that are increasingly common in cities, as we unfortunately live this week in Socorro.

Technically we know that rainwater 'washes' the soil of hills uncovered by vegetation and that urban occupations in hillside areas and on the banks of watercourses leave the soil impermeable, that is, it prevents the absorption of rainwater. on the ground, causing runoff that takes with it all the land that is exposed, causing landslides and, as we have seen, overflowing streams and flooding, as well as great damage to people and municipalities.

With this sad event, it is urgent that we turn on the spotlight and give due priority to individual, collective and public initiatives to prevent and reduce risks from climate events. It is possible to make Socorro more aware and less vulnerable.

We had severe proof of more sensitive sites, with risks of landslides and flooding, clearly with the need for soil conservation and restoration of native forests.

What we build today will impact the future of our city. What legacy will we leave?

We urgently need studies and mapping of these areas, urban planning, favorable public policies, and more effective plans that are a guide to organize city growth, always considering local needs and improving the quality of life of the inhabitants.

Copaíba is available to support the preparation of the Municipal Plan of the Atlantic Forest, which should help public management to make the right decisions to ensure the best possible planning for the city.
We highlight the importance of the population knowing and considering public documents, such as the Macro Drainage Plan, available on the Socorro Municipal Secretary for the Environment and Sustainable Development website, which is yet another instrument to add to solutions based on nature, with the recovery of small watercourses, care with the occupation of the hills around the city and the municipality, main watercourses with risks, strategies for works to be carried out, linear parks, etc.; actions that require investment but that need to be carried out to make Socorro a resilient city, “where people still live” well.

Finally, the importance of a Master Plan with participatory elaboration, with a view to climatic events and that reveals which are the most appropriate projects that meet the needs of citizens and provide improvements in the quality of life of the population, considering sustainable development and the population growth.

Text published on January 6, 2023 in the newspaper O Município – Socorro/SP