The failures in preparation and response in Mariana’s mining waste disaster: some lessons for the future

The rupture of Fundão’s dam mining waste (Mariana, MG) in the afternoon of 5th November 2015 was a tragic event. According to the Bowker Associates Science & Research in the Public Interest, Mariana’s disaster is the bigger worldwide event of this kind in terms of volume of waste and distance covered. His severe impact reached not only the communities lying around, but also cities and villages located on the borders of Doce River up to its mouth in the coast of ES state. Some of them, like Bento Rodrigues and Paracatu de Baixo, were completely destroyed. The environmental impacts were also brutal, namely in Doce River ecosystem and coastal protected areas near River Doce mouth. There are a lot of questions without answer namely those about the causes of the event. In this talk however we will focus on the failures of preparation, early warning and disaster response. Based on our field research held 15 days after the disaster we will present and discuss what we call by perceptual spots of people directly affected by the disaster, members of Civil Defense and Protection staff and SAMARCO´s directors and staff. We will try to identify some critical failures and problems related with preparation and response. We will also discuss the relationship between disasters and inadequate options of development, highlighting the critical importance of social participation in disaster risk management and in achieving more safe and resilient communities. We make some considerations about the future of a Regulatory Mining Framework in direct relationship with Sendai framework and the role of Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management.

Dr. Mario Jorge Freitas is Biologist, master, doctor and post doctor in Education. Researcher in Disaster Risk Reduction, Environmental Management and Environmental Education. Member of  the Laboratory of Studies in Risks and Disasters, of Santa Catarina State University. Voluntary permanent professor at Post Graduation Program in Territorial Planning and Socio-environmental Development. Executive and Scientific Coordinator of a Research Project asked and sponsored by State Secretary of Civil Defense and Protection.