"Brazil's Braskem sued over sinking ground from Alagoas mines", 01 December 2023

...Brazilian petrochemical producer Braskem is facing a new 1 billion real ($203 million) lawsuit over damages that its salt mines have caused sinking ground in the city of Maceio and forced evacuations, the company said on Thursday.

The lawsuit, which state and federal prosecutors filed against the company and the city, seeks an expanded risk area related to ground subsidence and requiring Braskem to compensate more families.

The announcement comes after Maceio's civil defense office warned on Wednesday that Braskem's salt mine number 18, located near a lake in the Mutange neighborhood, was at imminent risk of collapse.

The city, in the northeastern coastal state of Alagoas, said on Thursday the soil movement in the area "remains with the same intensity" recorded on the previous day, when there were 23 families still occupying properties in the region.

"Since yesterday, more than half of these properties have already been vacated," the city said...

This week, executives said that Braskem expects to finish relocating and compensating the city's residents affected by the sinking in early 2024...