Brazil: Giant Sinkholes Swallow Parts of Amazon City
Above: Aerial view of erosions in Buriticupu, Maranhão state, Brazil. Image credit: Nelson Almeida/Contributor/AFP via Getty Images
The Spin
Narrative A
The situation represents a preventable disaster caused by decades of inadequate urban planning and environmental mismanagement. Deforestation and poorly regulated development create perfect conditions for catastrophic erosion that threatens entire communities.