The collapse of tailings dams may cause severe socioambiental and economic impacts. On February 25, 2019, the tailings dam of the mine “Córrego do Feijão”, associated with the mining company “Vale S.A.” collapsed in Brumadinho, MG, Brazil. The rupture caused dozens of deaths, and the tailings mud spread all over many areas of the municipality. Geoprocessing tools were used to estimate and to characterize the area affected by the mud, as well as to identify impacts caused by the rupture, under the perspective of land cover changes. The results showed that the tailings mud buried 297,28 ha of land, and at least 193 corporate (41%) and family (59%) facilities were compromised. 51% of the affected land was occupied by native vegetation (most of it preserved vegetation), 19% by human activities with a high circulation of people and 13% by agricultural activities. These changes suggest severe impacts, like contamination of the physical and biotic environments; deterioration of the physical and mental health of the affected populations; and local socioeconomic destabilization. Specific and multidisciplinary studies in different scientific fields are required to characterize and to find solutions to mitigate these impacts.
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