Flooded avenues, collapsing houses, landslides… The torrential rains that have hit the Recife region since Tuesday, capital of the state of Pernambuco (northeast Brazil), have killed at least 34 people, including 29 in the last 24 hours, according to a latest Civil Defense report, Saturday May 28.
More than 1,300 people have lost their homes. The most serious accident occurred early Saturday, when 19 people died in a “significant landslide” at Jardin Monteverde. Six other people were killed in another landslide in the municipality of Camaragibe. Two died in Recife and another in Jaboatao dos Guararapes.
President Jair Bolsonaro expressed on Twitter his “condolences and solidarity with the victims of this sad disaster”.
Between Friday evening and Saturday morning, rainfall reached 236 millimeters in parts of Recife, according to the town hall. That equates to more than 70% of the city’s entire May rainfall forecast. According to the Pernambuco water and climate agency, the situation could worsen as the rains will continue for the next 24 hours in the state.
Muitas cidades próximas do Recife também estão sofrendo com as chuvas.
A casa do vídeo fica em Macaparana, Zona da Mata de PE. Distant from Recife a 100km, approximately. pic.twitter.com/QMvBEyo0vn— Sheila Pontes (@sheilafpontes) May 28, 2022
Over the past year, hundreds of Brazilians have died in floods and landslides caused by heavy rains. In February, more than 230 people were killed in the city of Petropolis, the former capital of the Empire of Brazil in the 19th century, in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
By making the atmosphere warmer and also more humid, global warming increases the risk and intensity of flooding caused by extreme rainfall.