One year on, Brazil battles to rebuild after the Samarco mining disaster
I didn’t see it, I just heard it,” says dairy farmer Clodoardo Carneiro. “It made a great noise. You could hear the bamboo breaking.”
Carneiro is describing the day of November 5, 2015, when a dam burst at a mine in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The flood of mineral waste – some 32 million cubic metres of water – surged over hills and crashed through the valleys, contaminating the River Doce and destroying Carneiro’s home.
One year on, the remains of houses stand as scarred shells, still encrusted wit
