Macacos - Town at a standstill

Macacos was a tourist magnet: hiking trails through the jungle of Mata Atlantica, restaurants and pensions along rivers. Then the alarm sirens went off. Now hotels are empty, part of the city is closed off and the residents live in fear.

The valley around Macacos is surrounded by seven mining dams. Shortly after the disaster in nearby Brumadinho, the alarm sirens howled in the middle of the night: a dam was breaking. But which one? And where to flee? Panic spread as residents realized that there were no marked escape routes.

The alarm turned out to be an exercise, alas nobody was informed. The mining company nevertheless evacuated residents and declared parts of Macacos restricted areas. Since then the lifes of the residents are on hold.