A dam in Brazil could collapse at any time

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – The Brazilian mining company Well On Friday, he announced that one of his roadblocks could collapse in the southeast of the state of Minas Gerais. The authorities have already ordered the expulsion of neighboring communities.

Vale raised the level of danger of the mine waste dam to three, the highest level. According to the Ministry of Energy and Mining of Brazil, this level means "that a break is imminent or has already occurred" in the dam of the city of Barao de Cocais.

State authorities had already notified certain communities in February that they were leaving the area after Vale had raised the level of risk to two.said company spokeswoman Cinthia Saito.

Lieutenant-Colonel Flavio Godinho, of the State Department of Civil Defense, told reporters that the authorities are currently evaluating the structure of Barao de Cocais in order to review the current emergency plan.

"Any activity on the dike could cause a break", Godinho told Globo television.

This announcement comes nearly two months after the destruction of another dam of the same company in the city of Brumadinho., spewing a toxic mud that killed at least 186 people, although 300 people were mentioned.

The type of structure used to contain the mining waste in Brumadinho is identical to that currently used in Barao de Cocais, about 150 kilometers away.

State authorities banned construction last month, but companies received a 90-day deadline to submit plans to replace dams within three years.

Vale said in a statement that the process of replacing 10 of these dams had already begun.