The leaning buildings of Santos

The coastline of the city of Santos, about 80 km from Sao Paulo, it offers a strange spectacle. Like dominoes about to topple, the shoreline is lined by a series of high-rise apartment buildings that lean to one side.

The problem lies in the land of Santos. Beneath a seven meter layer of sand there is a meter 30-40 cm deep bed of slippery clay that does not detract from the weight of the structures. Until 1968, the local building code did not have any restrictions on the type of foundation that could be used for buildings.

Ideally, the foundations of the buildings should reach the bedrock, which in the region is about 50 meters deep. But these buildings in Santos have bases that are only 4 or 5 meters (13 to 16 feet) deep.

An aggravating factor is that many buildings are closely located to each other so the proximity of the buildings has led to a popular urban legend that the collapse of one building could trigger a domino effect by bringing the other buildings down in the same way. Specialists deny such a catastrophe could never happen, as buildings tend to collapse vertically.

Surprisingly, people still live in these apartments. In all, there are about a hundred buildings that are at scary tilt angles. The buildings lean between 0,5 m (1 ft 7 in) and 1,8 m (5 ft 11 in).

Although the residents have learned to cope, the main problem they face is the devaluation of the property. Condo prices plummeted after the Samba country crisis.