brazils poorest region suffers worst drought in a century
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today
Egypt Today, egypt today
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today

Through the dust and cactuses in dismay

Brazil's poorest region suffers worst drought in a century

Egypt Today, egypt today

Egypt Today, egypt today Brazil's poorest region suffers worst drought in a century

The remains of dozens of cows and donkeys pictured in a rural area of Quixeramobim, in Ceara State
Quixeramobim - ArabToday

A cow's skull lies baking in the sun and nearby another dead cow rots, symbols of the desolation gripping northeastern Brazil during its worst drought in a century.

Farmer Kerginaldo Pereira, 30, walks through the dust and cactuses in dismay. There are in all about 30 skeletons of cattle, donkeys and other farm animals in a sort of open-air cemetery set aside in his settlement of Nova Canaa, in Ceara state, to avoid spread of disease.

"Most are animals that died of thirst or hunger. Sadly, that's the reality. So many animals have died in these five years of drought," Pereira told AFP.

The semiarid northeast of Brazil, known as the Sertao, is used to rain shortages but no one can remember a drought like this. There has been almost no rain since 2012 and the leafless, desiccated landscape has the appearance of having been in a vast fire.

Rivers and reservoirs that used to serve rural populations are not coping. The authorities estimate that reserves are at six percent capacity, with some completely emptied.

Experts say that a cocktail of factors has produced the disaster: a strong El Nino in the Pacific, heating of the north Atlantic and climate change that has seen temperatures in Ceara rise by 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in 50 years.

Pereira said he had to sell his other three cows and 10 sheep, fetching poor prices because they were "skeletal."

Like others in Nova Canaa, home to 70 families near the town of Quixeramobim, he could no longer afford to feed the animals as well his two small daughters.

- Water on wheels -

Everyday activities, even washing clothes or drinking, have become a luxury in the Sertao, which extends across eight states. The region has 25 million inhabitants and of them three million have insufficient water, according to state government figures -- a ratio that shoots up for those living in the countryside.

Rural communities depend on government water trucks, which fill cisterns. Even so there is only enough for about 20 liters (5.3 gallons) a day per person, far off the World Health Organization's recommended 50 to 100 liters a day, for drinking, cooking and sanitation.

To boost this supply, villages get together to pay for hard-to-afford private deliveries, or they go with donkeys to public wells where they stand in line for hours. Some dig their own wells but the water is so salty that even animals refuse to drink.

Most families get little more than about $130 a month in social security and emergency drought aide -- barely enough, especially when extra deliveries by truck cost about $50.

"We were able to get through one year of drought easily, because the reservoirs still had plenty of water saved, but now we are having to conserve more every day," said Clara Carneiro, a 67-year-old farmer. She saves shower water and reuses washing-up water to give to her dozen cows, which each need 100 liters a day.

- Dead turtles -

Tourism has also dried up, literally.

The Paradise Bar, with views of the Cedro Reservoir in Quixada, is still open but there are few customers now that the lake, which has a capacity of more than the equivalent of 50,000 Olympic swimming pools, is completely dry.

Hundreds of carcasses of turtles and the bones of fish litter the bed of the reservoir.

"There was very extensive biodiversity, with a lot of fish, amphibians, mollusks and many birds who fed on the fish," said Wagnar Docarm, taking part in a Quixada State University study on the dead animals. "Now it's all gone."

Hugo Fernandes, a zoologist leading the study, said the turtles would usually be migrating "but they couldn't find a way to get across the reservoir."

Local people who depended on fishing in the reservoir say the drought has devastated them.

"Everybody here lived by fishing. There were a lot of fish, shrimps," said Francisco Elso Pinheiro, 75. He said that by selling fish he had been able to double his approximately $300 a month pension.

His boat now? It's anchored in the middle of dry land.

- Recession and corruption -

In the worst recession for a century, the government often delays aid payments, while a much-awaited but controversial project to divert the major San Francisco River was held up after the main contractor was caught up in a nationwide corruption scandal.

 

"There's no doubt that the political crisis, together with the economic crisis, have made the water situation worse," said Ceara state's top water official, Francisco Teixeira.

Weather forecasts for 2017 give little hope of the Sertao getting a break, let alone refilling the reservoirs. The small communities around Quixeramobim say only God can help them.

"We have to pray because the only one who can help is above. The politicians forget about us once elections are over," said farmer Sebastiao Batista, 66, looking upward.

source: AFP

egypttoday
egypttoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

brazils poorest region suffers worst drought in a century brazils poorest region suffers worst drought in a century



GMT 08:02 2015 Tuesday ,15 September

No snow: Californian water source at 500-year low

GMT 15:25 2018 Wednesday ,14 November

Friedrich Merz vows to steal half of AfD voters

GMT 06:53 2017 Saturday ,18 February

G20 foreign ministers vow to fight poverty in Africa

GMT 14:27 2017 Friday ,10 March

Hypercars mingle with station wagons

GMT 13:13 2011 Friday ,16 December

Hyundai i-oniq Concept for Geneva 2012

GMT 11:53 2011 Monday ,26 September

Guerrero: We’ve got Peruvians dreaming

GMT 18:17 2016 Sunday ,18 December

Iraqi warplanes bomb Daesh warehouses

GMT 16:54 2017 Sunday ,15 January

26 killed as Hadi forces push Houthis back

GMT 04:29 2016 Saturday ,25 June

A New Generation of Robots is Ready for the Market

GMT 12:31 2011 Saturday ,26 November

Google working on OnLive rival for Chrome OS

GMT 23:18 2017 Wednesday ,01 March

Dh4.2m lawsuit against George Wassouf thrown out

GMT 12:57 2018 Tuesday ,09 January

German industrial orders dip in November

GMT 07:18 2018 Sunday ,07 January

Palestinians mark Orthodox Christmas

GMT 02:09 2017 Sunday ,08 January

Downtown Dubai is a place to be on New Year’s Eve

GMT 06:32 2018 Wednesday ,03 January

A Weathered Penny appoints

GMT 10:14 2015 Tuesday ,11 August

Woman drowns in Dubai after father blocks rescue

GMT 13:51 2013 Friday ,25 January

Billy Bragg to get BBC Folk Award

GMT 00:30 2012 Thursday ,27 September

Causes of snoring in pregnancy revealed

GMT 08:30 2016 Sunday ,10 April

War photographer and mother, the woman

GMT 14:06 2012 Thursday ,26 July

Depression linked to artificial light

GMT 05:44 2011 Tuesday ,19 April

New hope for secretive rare animal

GMT 18:53 2012 Tuesday ,27 November

Radio host suspended over anti-Semitism
 
 Egypt Today Facebook,egypt today facebook  Egypt Today Twitter,egypt today twitter Egypt Today Rss,egypt today rss  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
egypttoday, Egypttoday, Egypttoday