At least 19 people died this Sunday due to floods and landslides that occurred in the main coastal resorts of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, a region that was hit by the worst rains in history in the last 24 hours and that was full of tourists as a result of the long Carnival holiday, it was officially reported.
A statement from the Government of the state of São Paulo, sent to foreign correspondents, reported that More than 500 people have been evacuated and the intervention of the Army was requested to try to search for survivors in the neighborhoods buried under the mud due to the rains.
The affected municipalities are Sao Sebastiao, Ubatuba, Ilhabela, Caraguatuba, Bertioga, Santos, Guarujá and Caraguatatuba.
The most critical situation is in the municipality of Sao Sebastiao, in the hills located on the beaches of Camburí, Baleia, Juqueí, Sahy and Boicucanga.
The main roads in the region, including the Rio-Santos highway, are cut off due to avalanches and broken asphalt.
The President’s Government Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva placed the Army at the disposal of the São Paulo Governor, Tarcisio de Freitaswho went to the disaster site and assured that there are many access problems to rescue the survivors.
This climatic tragedy caused the cessation of Carnival celebrations in the coastal cities of Sao Paulowhich are full due to the holiday until next Wednesday.
On Monday, the Minister of Regional Development, Waldez Goes, will be transferred to the site, according to an official statement.
Goes reported that the Ministry of Defense was activated to make its logistics available to help with the rescues.
The mayor of Sao Sebastiao, Felipe Augusto, told the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper that it is not possible to reach the city by any highway because they are all affected by landslides.
Rainfall on the north coast of SP causes floods and roadblocks https://t.co/eDOHkWGxIo
— All Bahia (@TodaBahia) February 19, 2023
“The situation is chaotic because it is not possible to access those places with the lifeguards”he commented.
According to the local press, in 24 hours it rained in Sao Sebastiao and Ubatuba more than 600 mm in 24 hours, more than expected for all of February.
The most critical situation was a morass of permanent residents on the Barra do Sahy beach.
The disaster site is located 190 kilometers from the city of São Paulo.
The rains also caused flooding, disturbances and cutting off the drinking water system in other tourist places such as Bertioga and Guarujá.
The port of Santos, the largest in Latin America, had to stop working for a few hours because of the storm.
The impacted region was full to capacity due to the tourist flow for the Carnival holiday. In the state of São Paulo live 46 million inhabitants.
