Standard Countermeasures Studies for Debris Flow Disasters in Brazil

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Abstract

The GIDES Project, supported by JICA, is proceeding in Brazil in order to mitigate sediment disasters. A manual for the debris flow countermeasures has been drawn up as part of the Project goals. The manual is based on the Japanese guidelines for basic planning of countermeasures against debris flow and woody debris, however, adjustments were proposed due to typical natural and social conditions in Brazil. Some equations and coefficients were modified based on Brazilian field conditions. In addition, a flow chart was proposed in order to help engineers selecting debris flow suitable countermeasures. The manual methodology has been applied in two pilot project sites, regarding Brazilian areas affected by past sediment disasters, (1) The 2011 Região Serrana do Rio de Janeiro Disaster, and (2) the Santa Catarina state disaster occurred in 2008. This paper presents a summary of the Brazilian Manual for countermeasures planning against debris flow and introduces its methodology, showing two cases in which the manual guidelines were applied.

Publication
In International Journal of Erosion Control Engineering, 13 (1)12-22

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