This study examined documents that recorded floods in the municipality of Cuiabá between 1970 and 2010. The steps of research encompassed printed and digital media, municipal civil defense and the collection of the Central Library of the municipality of Cuiabá. The main goal of this study was to establish a relationship between urban sprawl and incidence of floods in the municipality. Fifty-one flood events were recorded, concentrated in the months from December to April, with an average of 1.28 occurrences per year in the period analyzed. The expansion of the urban area in the early 60’s has favored the disordered occupation of land use and the increase of urban floods, either by the intense waterproofing as well as by channeling of urban streams, as observed in the Prainha and Barbado streams. The results revealed that the urbanization of the capital of Mato Grosso State has influenced in increasing the frequency of floods and their impacts have caused in losses of material and human nature.
urban floods; population growth; urban drainage
