Build Back Better: Brazil
Doghouse – Flood Waters
Open source offers sound solutions to help a place and its people recover – with improved technology – after disaster.
Many of you know that I have spent a lot of time in Brazil and the rest of Latin America, and many of you know that I have two Brazilian godsons and a Brazilian husband.
Therefore you will not be surprised that I have been following the horrific devastation and loss of life and property that occurred in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, due to the heavy rains, flooding, and partial collapse of a dam (with others at risk of collapse) this past April and May [1]. This flooding even extended to some cities in neighboring Uruguay.
While I have seen many pictures and videos of homes, towns, and cars under water, the video that most brought it home to me was a video of the Salgado Filho International Airport at Porto Alegre (POA), a facility that I used many, many times as I attended free software conferences held in Porto Alegre [2]. You do not have to understand Portuguese to feel the impact.
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