More than three dozen people were killed in Brazil as torrential rains gripped the state of Sao Paulo with floods and landslides, and carnivals were cancelled in cities with rescue operations underway.
Torrentail rain in brazil
Heavy rains put Brazilian coastal regions in despair, and the flooding in southeast regions of Brazil accompanied by landslides killed more than 36 people and dislodged hundreds more, with the death toll increasing every hour, according to a statement from Sao Paulo authorities.
The aftermath left by severe rainfall in Ilhabela, Brazil, Photo by Reuters.
Sau Paula’s government confirmed the deaths of 35 people in the city of Sao Sebastiao, and a 7-year-old girl was killed in the neighbouring Ubatuba region.
TV footage coming out of Brazil shows houses fully drenched in water and residents using small boats to carry items and people to higher positions. Several roads that connect the central city of Rio de Janeiro to ports were blocked by flooding and landslides. The northern coast of Sao Paulo is a popular destination for carnivals for wealthy tourists, and many tourists who travel to the region are also stuck. Rescue teams under the supervision of the federal government are struggling to keep both tourists and locals safe.
The major cities of Sao Sebastiao, Ubatuba, Ilhabela, and Bertioga are some of the regions experiencing intense calamity and having to cancel their carnival festivals. Meanwhile, the rescue teams work hard to find missing, injured, and dead citizens stuck in the rain.
The mayor of Sao Sebastio shared several videos of widespread devastation on social media, including one of a baby being rescued by locals in flooded streets. Rescue workers continue to reconnect with isolated communities that might have been stuck at different junctures of the flooded city.
“Our rescue teams are not managing to get to several locations; it is a chaotic situation,” said Felipe Augusto, the mayor of Sao Sebastiao. Later, he added that there are dozens of people missing and that 50 houses collapsed in the city due to the landslides.
Rain is expected to continue for a few more days, and coastal regions of Brazil have been placed on high alert, with civil defence forces, the fire department, and a rescue team ready to respond to any emergencies. The Sao Paulo state government said in a statement that the precipitation in the region surpassed 600 millimetres on Monday and that this is one of the highest amounts of rain in Brazil. Bertiogo alone had a rainfall of 687 millimetres during that period, the state government said in a statement.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was attending the carnival in Bahia state, Brazil, is expected to visit the flooded areas today. The federal government has delegated several ministries for assistance to restore infrastructure, rescue victims, and start reconstruction work. The Sao Paulo governor is expected to meet with federal officials for coordination on flood management today, the statement said.
