Ghost towns: 55,000 flee Brazil neighborhoods due to urban mining
by ASSOCIATED PRESSMar 20, 20226:46 pm +03 +03:00
Citizens of Brazil's northeastern Alagoas state, Maceio, left en masse, hoping to escape the destruction of their homes with dozens of cavities beneath their floors caused by four decades of salt mining.
Homes stand abandoned in the Bom Parto neighborhood of Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, March 7, 2022.
AP
The Bom Parto neighborhood has been abandoned because of ground subsidence caused by the Braskem mine that has forced more than 55,000 people from their homes.
People wait inside a railroad car at the train station in the Bom Parto neighborhood, in Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, March 8, 2022.
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The window of an abandoned home is seen in the Bebedouro neighborhood of Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, March 6, 2022.
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Escape route signs placed by the Braskem mining company line the side of a road, indicating the route in case of a catastrophic event in an urban area that has been vacated because of geological problems arising from mining activities in Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, March 6, 2022.
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Paulo Sergio Doe shows a family tree sketched on a damaged wall of a neighbor's home in the Pinheiro neighborhood of Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, March 6, 2022.
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Farol is one of the neighborhoods that has been abandoned because of the threat of ground subsidence caused by the Braskem mine.
Graffiti scrawled on the wall of an abandoned home reads in Portuguese; "Leave me in peace Braskem," in the Farol neighborhood of Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, March 6, 2022.
AP
Rosivaldo Ferreira stands in the doorway of her home in the Bom Parto neighborhood of Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, March 7, 2022.
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Israel Oliveira checks his mobile phone as he sits on a bed inside his damaged home in the Bom Parto neighborhood of Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, March 7, 2022.
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Braskem is one of the biggest petrochemical companies in the Americas, owned primarily by Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras and construction giant Novonor, formerly known as Odebrecht.
Graffiti that reads in Portuguese; "Braskem out of Alagoas, killer," is scrawled on the facade of an apartment building that has been vacated because of the threat of ground subsidence and geological problems caused by the Braskem mine in Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, March 7, 2022.
AP
Natalicia Goncalves is the last remaining resident on her street after the others have been forced to leave because of the threat of ground subsidence and geological problems caused by the Braskem mine, which has caused the evacuation of more than 55,000 people.
Goncalves, a 77-year-old retired teacher, stands in front of her home in the Pinheiro neighborhood of Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, March 8, 2022.
AP
Priscila Barros has refused to leave her home where she has lived for over 30 years, after the other homes on her street have been condemned and abandoned because of geological problems arising from mining activities that have created the threat of ground subsidence, forcing about 55,000 people to abandon their homes.
Priscila Barros poses for a photo in the library her father left at her family home in the Pinheiro neighborhood of Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, March 8, 2022.
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Seen from inside a railroad car, a gate blocks the railroad into the Bebedouro neighborhood of Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, March 7, 2022.
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A discarded Barbie doll lays in a classroom of an abandoned school in the Pinheiro neighborhood of Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, March 6, 2022.
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Homes stand abandoned in the Bebedouro neighborhood of Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, March 7, 2022.
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Natalicia Goncalves, a 77-year-old retired teacher, looks out from the window of her home in the Pinheiro neighborhood of Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, March 6, 2022.
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View of the Braskem mining facility in Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, March 8, 2022.
AP
A woman crosses herself as she leaves the Santo Antonio de Padua church in the Bebedouro neighborhood of Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, March 6, 2022.
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Paulo Sergio Doe, his wife Alessandra Cavalcante Doe and their children pictured in the background stand in front of their home, in the Pinheiro neighborhood of Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, March 6, 2022.
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Children play during an activity day organized by the Baptist church in the Pinheiro neighborhood of Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, March 6, 2022.
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Homes stand abandoned in Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, Sunday, March 6, 2022.
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Paulo Sergio Doe visits abandoned homes in the Pinheiro neighborhood of Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, Sunday, March 6, 2022.
