The urban occupation of the Baleias seacoast, Bahia State: susceptibility to economic damages in function of the coastal dynamics

Abstract

This paper deals with occupation density of the Baleias seacoast, southernmost Bahia State (Brazil), in terms of the presence of permanent constructions, and to evaluate the susceptibility for the loss of materials as a function of the erodibility indices of its beaches. This evaluation indicated that 58.53% of this coastline are susceptible to economic damages herein classified as low, in 39.6%, as medium, in 8.27% as high and only very high in 1.6%. These data may be useful for eventual coastal management planning that may be implemented along the Baleias seacoast beaches. The coastal sections with high and very high sensibility to erosion could be considered as high risk areas. In other stretches it is necessary to establish a retreat from the beach to produce a strip free of constructions, which is obviously more plausible in areas with low urbanization density, which corresponds to the greatest part of the Baleias seacoast. Such a strip could embrace beaches with changeable susceptibilities placing out of risk the urbanized costal zone at its rear. Keywords: Susceptibility to economic damages, coastal erosion, urbanization, coastal management, Costa das Baleias, Bahia.