A city destroyed by mud

Published Wednesday 18/11/2015 – 14:33

When the mud of the dams of Samarco (Vale/BHP Billiton) arrived to the center of the municipality of Barra Longa, that was about 2 am, 10 hours after the dam rupture. Even though, the residents were caught off guard. In interviews, they say that the company did not inform the population of the risks and did not provide aid for the removal of the families.

“A person came individually to warn us, but no one believed that the mud would come with that force. If Samarco had warned us, it would be different”, complains Raimundo Fernandes, vice president of the Neighborhood Association of Morro Vermelho. He shows the damages the mud caused to the organization’s headquarters location used for parties and other activities, which is located at the corner of the river Carmo, which is now a river of mud. “Seventeen years to build this association and in three hours it’s all over.”

Raimundo front of the Neighborhood Association of Morro Vermelho

Antônio Rizo, owner of a restaurant and hostel, reported that he phoned the company after mid-night and the company answered that the mud flood would not get there. Two hours afterwards the mud came to the stablishment and the residence, which is near the square of the city – which used to be a space the residents were proud of, but now is completely taken by mud. “Samarco is a destroyer of dreams”, he said.

The disaster evicted more than 130 families of the village of 7000 inhabitants. Unlike those affected from Mariana districts, the people affected from Barra Longa have not received yet attendance to stay temporary in hotels. Until yesterday afternoon (November 17), the company had rented 35 houses to accommodate the families.

At a meeting held yesterday at the church, a resident who came to town just four months ago and lost all her new mobile complains that the company had not yet delivered the furniture kit. She has just the mattress to sleep on . The school would return to work today, but she have sent her children to her mother’s home in another city.

A resident of the village of Gesteiro said that there are 16 families without home there. The town was isolated from the city’s center, and the access by land was destroyed. The company opened an alternative access, but this was “hampered by the rain.”

Another resident of the rural area complains about the lack of support for producers who suffered losses with the interment of the pastures, loss of the milk production and death of animals. Samarco’s assistance is disastrous. Samarco bought horse fodder for the cattle, he complains. The employee of the company complains that they dont have experience with agricultural issues and are expecting support from Embrapa and Emater (state companies of support for agriculture)

This same representative of Samarco claims that there are currently 270 employees working in the municipal reconstruction (although the visual impression is that the vast majority of people in the street cleaning are volunteers associated to churches and the town residents themselves).

An older resident complains about the lack of assistance of the company. “On Sunday only five employees were here.” The city streets, you see a lot of buckets full of mud -something unusual in streets of the city which is normally clean and organized, said a priest who lived there. Residents complain that ” when the company came here to build a pipeline through the municipality the company had three work shifts, but to rebuild Barra Longa, only one.” Samarco (Vale / BHP Billiton) employee stated that they only have one shift at the moment in order to not “disturb the sleep of the residents.”

The residents also charged information about the security of the other dams of the mining company, due to the information related by the press since this weekend that two others, Santarém and Germano are at risk of bursting. “The dam [Germano] is being monitored and reinforcements are being made, but the technical evaluation is that there is no problem in it,” he said. Meanwhile, the company’s directors admitted at a press conference that there is a risk of rupture of the dams.

Iris Ferreira, resident

The resident Iris Ferreira shows the damages caused in her house. As a craft artists she says she lost 40 thousand Reais in embroidery materials. She and her husband had no time to leave when the mud came, they climbed on the roof of the house and stayed there until the rescue came next day. Yesterday afternoon, Iris tried to rescue some furniture and showed that most are broken. Only the orchids, hanging from the porch ceiling, stayed intact.

See video: https://www.facebook.com/MAB.Brasil/videos/909578899133518/

“My name is Rizo, we are not receiving information, we don’t know if we are going to be compesated regarding our material losses. I am living in favor in someonelses house, I never thought this would happen.” Rizo said he called two hours before the flood came and the company denied the risk of the mud flood.