The Brazilian city of Petrópolis counted on Thursday new deaths due to the deluge rains and already add up to 104, while rescuers and volunteers continued to search for missing persons despite the fact that time is running out to find them alive.
“Until now, we have a record of 104 deaths. There are 24 rescued alive by firefighters,” reported the Civil Defense of this mountain city 68 km north of Rio de Janeiro.
For now, the authorities did not reveal the number of missing, but the Public Ministry said Wednesday night that 35 people were “registered” as missing in its person locator service.
The dramatic balance continues to grow with the passing of the hours, after the worst storm in the last 90 years that on Tuesday afternoon caused almost 300 landslides in various parts of the city.
This Thursday morning, several inhabitants continued to search for the disappeared by the fast-flowing rivers that dragged everything as they passed and left a trail of houses reduced to rubble, AFP journalists confirmed.
“I was raised here, I know everyone. I came to help the (rescue) personnel. It’s surreal. Unfortunately it will be difficult to find someone alive,” Luciano Gonçalves, 26, covered in mud, told AFP. and with a hoe in hand rummaging through the lama.
Others who lost their relatives remained sitting in front of their houses with their eyes lost among so much destruction.
Some 500 firefighters resumed rescue work at dawn after stopping briefly overnight due to unstable ground.
more heavy rain
The Brazilian government warned on Wednesday of a “very high” risk of new landslides in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro, “especially in Petrópolis”, due to the forecast of more rains for the next few days that could cause new “floods”. “.
Civil Defense also warned on Thursday that “heavy rains are forecast for the afternoon and evening,” which could further complicate rescue tasks, in which dogs, bulldozers, trucks, boats and a dozen aircraft.
According to experts, the tragedy is the result of a combination of factors, including excessive rains, the topography of the region and the existence of large neighborhoods of precarious houses, many of them built illegally, in the steep risk areas.
Some points in Petrópolis received up to 260 millimeters of rain in less than six hours, a volume higher than the historical average for all of February (240 mm), according to the MetSul meteorological agency.
“It was the worst rain since 1932,” Rio de Janeiro Governor Claudio Castro said on Wednesday.
Brazil has experienced episodes of intense rains in the last three months, especially in the states of Bahia (northeast) and Minas Gerais (southeast), which have left dozens dead and caused damage to hundreds of municipalities.
Scientists argue that due to climate change, extreme weather events will become more and more frequent.
