Brazil updates urban disaster risk mapping manual

Brazil has updated its primary reference manual for urban risk management, ‘Mapeamento de Riscos: Conceitos e Métodos Aplicados a Processos Geológicos e Hidrológicos’. This marks the first revision of the tool since 2007.

Rodolfo Moura, director of the Risk Mitigation and Prevention Department at the Ministry of Cities, stated that climate urgency and the arrival of a super El Niño accelerated the update. The new version introduces a streamlined classification system that focuses exclusively on medium, high, and very high risk levels, omitting classifications for low or non-existent risk.

The manual incorporates new technological instruments and addresses specific hydrological risks, such as flooding and flash floods, as well as erosive processes like rockfalls and landslides. By utilizing this manual, municipalities can map vulnerable areas and develop municipal risk reduction plans, which is a prerequisite for accessing government resources for prevention and urban adaptation works. Data from the Casa Civil indicates that nearly 1,942 municipalities expose approximately nine million Brazilians to such disasters.