The city disappears into the sea

Over the past half century, the Atlantic Ocean has consumed more and more of Atafona, a coastal city in Brazil.

On average, the sea moves inwards five meters each year. Around 500 houses have been taken from the sea.

Due to climate change, little can be done to save the city. It will eventually be covered by sea.

– The sea swallows everything

– There was a chapel here and a bakery. It was a very large city, of which only a piece remains. The sea swallows everything, says Vanessa Gomes Barreto, a fisherman in the city, to the news agency AP.

Several possible solutions have been considered. Among other things, to deport large amounts of sand, or to construct a barrier. But the solutions are not effective enough to stop the sea.

– The destruction will continue

Previously, the Paraiba do Sul river brought land mass and sand to Atafona. Parts of the water flow were diverted in the 1950s to secure water to São Paulo. This has had major consequences.

Pedro de Araújo, professor of materials technology, tells AP that the river weakens Atafona’s natural barrier to the sea.

– Less land mass and sand that stabilized the coast means that the sea erodes the city, Araújo says to Ap News.

He goes on to say that sea levels are rising globally due to ice melting, and that the destruction will continue at a faster rate.

The collapse of the sea

Nearly five hundred buildings in Atafona have been flooded by the sea.

Júlia María de Assis is one of those who has had her life changed. She hoped to take over her father’s hotel built in Atafona.

– Although the hotel’s structure was strong, it was damaged every time the waves hit the building. 13 years ago it collapsed. It is now at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, she tells AP.

Assis says that she is often asked if it has made her sad.

– I am grateful that I was born in Atafona. But people must respect nature. I miss the house I spent every summer. Now it’s at the bottom of the Atlantic.

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