At least 14 people died, including eight children, and five remain missing by strong storms and landslides that have affected the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro for two daysreported local authorities.
The heavy rainfall that caused floods punished a wide strip of the Atlantic coast of this state in southeastern Brazil and, according to forecasts, more rain in the next few days in the region, according to the AFP agency.
Among the fatalities are a mother and six of her childreninformed the authorities.
The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro wrote on Facebook that the federal government had sent military planes to help with the rescue efforts and dispatched the national secretary for disaster response, Alexandre Lucas, to the state of 17.5 million people.
These new rains occur six weeks after flash floods and landslides 233 people were killed in Petrópolis, the imperial summer capital of the 19th century, also in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
This time, one of the most affected areas was the tourist Paratya coastal colonial city known for its picturesque cobblestone streets and colorful houses.
At neighborhood of Ponta Negra an avalanche buried a mother and six of her children 2, 5, 8, 10, 15 and 17 years old. A seventh boy was rescued alive and taken to hospital, where he remains in stable condition, they added. Four other people were injured.
There were six more deaths, including two children, in the city of Angra dos Reiswhere the authorities declared “maximum alert” and a state of emergency after several avalanches devastated the Monsuaba neighborhood.
Several neighbors were rescued alive, while the tasks of search for five people.
The mayor of Angra dos Reis, Fernando Jordao, said that emergency workers were installing floodlights to continue the search and rescue operation through the night.
“Residents have been working side by side with us in the search“, he said at a press conference. “We will continue to work hard.”
Meanwhile, in mosque40 km northwest of the city of Rio de Janeiro, a 38-year-old man died electrocuted trying to help another person to escape the floods, according to officials and news reports.
The storms have affected several cities in the state of Rio de Janeiro since Friday night, and the waters dragged cars and caused landslides, a tragedy that is becoming more frequent in the rainy season, especially in poor communities located on the slopes of the mountains.
A hospital in the suburb of Nova Iguacu was floodedturning the corridors of his intensive care unit into streams.
Angra authorities pointed out that in the city it rained 800 mm in 48 hours“levels never before registered in the municipality”.
Experts say that the rainy season downpours in Brazil are increased by the phenomenon of La Niña – the cyclical cooling of the Pacific Ocean – and due to the impact of climate change.
Faced with a warmer atmosphere that retains more water, the risk and intensity of flooding due to extreme rainfall increases.
In January, torrential rains caused floods and ground slides that killed at least 28 people in southeastern Brazil, mainly in the State of São Paulo.
Heavy rains were also reported in the northeastern state of Baywhere 24 people died in December.
