Resident of Parque Jardim Burnier, a neighborhood in the Southeast Zone of Juiz de Fora, in the Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais, electrician Jorge Rocha woke up on Monday night (23) to screams and banging on the door.
“It was desperate. A lot of people running. They said everyone should leave the house. I came out and then I saw the disaster”, says Jorge.
He lives 20 meters away from the place most impacted by the landslide: a group of houses that collapsed when the entire ravine collapsed. Jorge saw the moment when one of the neighbors emerged from the rubble alive.
“He came out covered in mud, scared. And spent the night looking for his family. In the morning, the firefighters found the bodies of his wife and son”, says the electrician.
Nurse Débora Pena ran up the hill to help her grandmother get out of the house, which is opposite the site of the landslide. She says that she saw the moment when earth and stone began to descend.
“I’ve lived here since I was a child. I’ve never seen anything like this. At the time, a lot of earth and stone started falling. And I ran out and called for help. It’s difficult to process, the penny hasn’t sunk in yet. I haven’t been able to sleep since last night. I knew everyone here. We want to at least remove the bodies to give them a dignified burial”, says Débora.
The heavy rains that hit Zona da Mata in Minas Gerais between the night of Monday (23) and the beginning of this Tuesday (24) caused the death of at least 28 deaths in Juiz de Fora and Ubá.
There was also an overflow of the Paraibuna River, floods, burials and islanded areas. Neighborhoods were isolated and there were more than 40 emergency calls due to flooding and structural risk. Civil Defense estimates 440 homeless people who have already received temporary shelter.
The federal government has officially recognized the state of calamity in Juiz de Fora, which allows resources and immediate assistance to be sent to the affected areas.
The National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) issued warnings of intense rain for the next few days, with a forecast of high volumes of precipitation and risk of flooding.
THE The Fire Department’s rescue work continues throughout the night in the worst-hit locations. According to the deputy commander of the 4th Military Fire Brigade, Demétrios Bastos Goulart, the number of personnel was increased to carry out the search for the missing.
“Here at Jardim Burnier Park, we started with 12 soldiers, we have 25 now. We also have a sniffer dog. It’s uninterrupted work, with a lighting wall, equipment and team rotation. We’re going to keep the area isolated, because there are new risks of landslides, especially on the slopes.”
