WASHINGTON, D.C., JULY 2, 2026 - The World Bank Group has announced a new project to support the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil, to reduce the risk of devastating floods and strengthen the state's capacity to manage weather-related disasters, mitigating impacts on the economy while protecting jobs and lives.
The US$ 119.2 million project will benefit approximately 420,000 people across 54 municipalities, many of them low-income residents living in high-risk areas who stand to gain the most from lasting, reliable flood protection.
Santa Catarina is home to a diversified economy with strong manufacturing, technology, and agribusiness sectors. At its economic heart lies the Itajaí Valley, which generates approximately one-third of all jobs in the state. The Port of Itajaí - the second largest in Brazil by container throughput - anchors this dynamism, serving as a critical hub for beef exports and international trade.
The valley is also one of the most disaster-prone regions in the country. Between 1991 and 2023, flooding and landslides caused more than US$7.2 billion in economic losses across Santa Catarina, affecting more than 20 million people. The catastrophic 2008 floods left the city of Itajaí 90% underwater, forcing vessels to divert to neighboring states for months, at an estimated cost of US$35 million per day in lost port revenue. In the Itajaí Valley, unmanaged flood risk is a direct threat to jobs.
"Continued job generation and local prosperity in the region will depend on sustainable strategies to adapt to growing flood risks," says Jorge Coarasa, World Bank Acting Country Director for Brazil.
Flood mitigation infrastructure in the Itajaí Valley is at the core of the project. Investments include river improvement works such as channel dredging, reinforcement of embankments, and floodgates along the Itajaí-Mirim River. The project will also support the construction of a series of flood control dams upstream, as part of a multi-year government investment program to mitigate flood impacts.
Additionally, early warning systems will be expanded across the entire state, improving coordination between climate monitoring and local civil defense agencies, ensuring faster, better-coordinated responses when extreme weather strikes. Tools will be developed to expand flood control solutions to incorporate nature-based solutions alongside traditional flood control measures.
This investment forms part of Santa Catarina's ambitious "Proteção Levada a Sério" (Protection Taken Seriously) program, a multi-year, US$1 billion commitment to climate resilience across the state. The project's approach is designed to be replicated in other river basins in Santa Catarina and to serve as a model for other flood-exposed states across Brazil and Latin America.
The project was prepared with support from the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR).
