Articles | Volume 23, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-1157-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-1157-2023
Research article
 | 
21 Mar 2023
Research article |  | 21 Mar 2023

Deadly disasters in southeastern South America: flash floods and landslides of February 2022 in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro

Enner Alcântara, José A. Marengo, José Mantovani, Luciana R. Londe, Rachel Lau Yu San, Edward Park, Yunung Nina Lin, Jingyu Wang, Tatiana Mendes, Ana Paula Cunha, Luana Pampuch, Marcelo Seluchi, Silvio Simões, Luz Adriana Cuartas, Demerval Goncalves, Klécia Massi, Regina Alvalá, Osvaldo Moraes, Carlos Souza Filho, Rodolfo Mendes, and Carlos Nobre

Related authors

DEPTH RETRIEVAL FROM A RESERVOIR USING A CONDITIONAL-BASED MODEL
M. B. Nunes, A. P. Dal Poz, E. Alcântara, and M. Curtarelli
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLII-3-W12-2020, 231–235, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-3-W12-2020-231-2020,https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-3-W12-2020-231-2020, 2020

Related subject area

Landslides and Debris Flows Hazards
Topographic controls on landslide mobility: modeling hurricane-induced landslide runout and debris-flow inundation in Puerto Rico
Dianne L. Brien, Mark E. Reid, Collin Cronkite-Ratcliff, and Jonathan P. Perkins
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1229–1253, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-1229-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-1229-2025, 2025
Short summary
Characterizing the scale of regional landslide triggering from storm hydrometeorology
Jonathan Perkins, Nina S. Oakley, Brian D. Collins, Skye C. Corbett, and W. Paul Burgess
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1037–1056, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-1037-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-1037-2025, 2025
Short summary
A participatory approach to determine the use of road cut slope design guidelines in Nepal to lessen landslides
Ellen B. Robson, Bhim Kumar Dahal, and David G. Toll
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 949–973, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-949-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-949-2025, 2025
Short summary
An integrated method for assessing vulnerability of buildings caused by debris flows in mountainous areas
Chenchen Qiu and Xueyu Geng
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 709–726, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-709-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-709-2025, 2025
Short summary
Identifying unrecognised risks to life from debris flows
Mark Bloomberg, Tim Davies, Elena Moltchanova, Tom Robinson, and David Palmer
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 647–656, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-647-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-647-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Albuquerque, J. P. D., Herfort, B., and Eckle, M.: The Tasks of the Crowd: A Typology of Tasks in Geographic Information Crowdsourcing and a Case Study in Humanitarian Mapping, Remote Sens., 8, 1–22, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs8100859, 2016.  
Ansari, H., Zan, F. D., and Bamler, R.: Efficient Phase Estimation for Interferogram Stacks, IEEE T. Geosci. Remote, 56, 4109–4125, 10.1109/TGRS.2018.2826045. 2018. 
Avelar, A. S., Netto, A. L. C., Lacerda, W. A, Becker, L. B., and Mendonça, M. B.: Mechanisms of the recent catastrophic landslides in the mountainous range of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in: Landslide science and practice. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 265–270, ISBN 978-3-642-31337-0-34, 2013. 
Ávila, F. F., Alvalá, R. C., Mendes, R. M., and Amore, D. J.: The influence of land use/land cover variability and rainfall intensity in triggering landslides: a back-analysis study via physically based models, Nat. Hazards, 105, 1139–1161, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-020-04324-x, 2021. 
Brasil: Lei no 12.651, de 25 de maio de 2012, https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2011-2014/2012/lei/l12651.htm (last access: 1 May 2022), 2012. 
Download
Short summary
The municipality of Petrópolis (approximately 305 687 inhabitants) is nestled in the mountains 68 km outside the city of Rio de Janeiro. On 15 February 2022, the city of Petrópolis in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, received an unusually high volume of rain within 3 h (258 mm). This resulted in flash floods and subsequent landslides that caused 231 fatalities, the deadliest landslide disaster recorded in Petrópolis. This work shows how the disaster was triggered.
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint