Impulse wave in the Brazilian Lake of Capitólio

Abstract

ABSTRACT This note proposes a technical approach towards the disaster occurred on January 8, 2022, in the tourism region of Capitólio (Minas Gerais state, Brazil), where a massive quartzite rock broke from a cliff and toppled on to pleasure boaters drifting on a lake, leaving 10 people dead and 30 others injured. Even though the rockfall was decisive in the tragedy, it is reasonable to affirm that the submersion-wave impact certainly potentialized the accident. Along these lines, this work not only aims to videographically explore the geometric / kinematic characteristics of the solid block, but also to discuss the specificities pertaining the event. Lastly, with basis on the Noda Method (1970), this manuscript also estimates the resulting wave amplitude (near the impact) and the energy-transfer coefficient between the block and the body of water.

Keywords

• Impulse wave
• Capitólio rockfall
• Noda method
• Maximum amplitude wave