Mato Grosso does not have preventive work against disasters

The lack of a public policy for monitoring and preventing disasters in Mato Grosso was pointed out by professor at the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT) and geologist Caiubi Kuhn as one of the main warning factors regarding the fall of rock blocks in locations such as Portão do Inferno, in Chapada dos Guimarães, or floods in several regions of the State.

In an interview with Jornal da Cultura 90.7, this Wednesday (08.11), the geologist, who is also scientific coordinator of the Chapada dos Guimarães geopark, explained that there is no public disaster prevention policy in Mato Grosso. He also pointed to the lack of a technical team in Civil Defense, which should act continuously in monitoring and prevention.

The geologist’s warning comes after the release of a study produced by Companhia Mato-grossense de Mineração (Metamat), which indicated the risk of blocks falling in the Portão do Inferno region, in Chapada dos Guimarães. “Not only Portão do Inferno, but in other places with disaster risks are not carried out [ações preventivas] sometimes due to a lack of technical personnel within Civil Defense”, explained Caiubi.

The study carried out by Metamat suggested a series of observations. According to the geologist, in the case of Portão do Inferno there are two warning points for falling blocks that need to be observed, mainly in the section from Salgadeira to the main point of the gate, towards Chapada dos Guimarães.

“In the case of Portão do Inferno there are two risks that need to be monitored. One is the block fall from this upper cliff and another thing that needs to be monitored is how the block fall is from the lower cliff. There are two different cliffs, with different rocks.”

Caiubi also explains that the period with the greatest risk of falling blocks at Portão do Inferno is when the rainy season begins. “When the rock gets wet, it becomes heavier, so it is easier to fall. These periods, mainly related to very intense rains after the dry season, are the most common periods for falling blocks”.

According to the geologist, the alert situation in Mato Grosso is not restricted to Portão do Inferno and is not limited to the rainy season. “There are several places in the state that will have countless different types of problems. There are preventive ways for all types of disasters. Be it a disaster that is related to mass movement or disasters related to extreme hydrological movements, be it an extreme of drought or an extreme of high rainfall”.

In the expert’s analysis, what is missing is a continuous public policy for monitoring and preventing disasters in Mato Grosso, to prevent cases like the one that occurred in 2008, when a rock block approximately 12 meters long (equivalent to the size of a bus) fell from the wall of the Véu de Noiva waterfall, in the Chapada dos Guimarães National Park, which resulted in the death of a 17-year-old girl and left several people injured.

“That this is monitored and that there is a continuous effort by the Government to avoid these types of disasters. And we don’t see that happening today. It does not happen in the State of Mato Grosso. When there is a study, it gets shelved and will become a topic again when a block actually falls again near the road, attracting the attention of whoever is passing by. There is no monitoring process today.”

Landslide

In November 2021, a landslide was recorded on MT-251, Chapada dos Guimarães road, in the Portão do Inferno region. At the time, one of the walls at the top collapsed with rainwater and the road was closed.