(Rio de Janeiro) Rescue teams worked Sunday in pouring rain to help victims of the violent storm and heavy rains that have hit southeastern Brazil since Friday, notably the states of Espirito Santo and Rio de Janeiro, leaving at least 25 dead.
Two deaths recorded in Apiaca, in Espirito Santo, brought the death toll to 17 in that state, according to a statement from Civil Protection and Defense.
The governor of this state, Renato Casagrande, described a “chaotic situation” in Mimoso do Sul, a town of around 25,000 inhabitants, where at least 15 people have died from the floods, according to an official toll which could rise further.
On Sunday, however, the water level fell after a night with virtually no rain, which allowed rescuers to reach previously inaccessible areas, the governor said on social media.
Aerial images of Mimoso do Sul taken on Saturday and released by firefighters showed entire neighborhoods of the city under water, from which only the roofs of houses emerged. In other photos, published by local media, several vehicles, including a fire truck, are swept away by the current.
The storm killed eight people in the neighboring state of Rio de Janeiro between Friday and Saturday, most of them due to landslides in a mountainous region, according to authorities.
The regional government confirmed four deaths in the collapse of a house and a small building in Petrópolis, a tourist town about 70 kilometers from the state capital.
” Climate change ”
An AFP team witnessed on Saturday morning the rescue of a little girl who had been buried for sixteen hours under the rubble, and the discovery of her father’s body near her.
“The father heroically protected the little girl with his body and she was saved […] We are in pain, but grateful for this miracle,” Luis Claudio de Souza, 63, a neighbor and owner of a neighborhood bar, told AFP.
Other deaths occurred in Teresópolis, Santa Cruz da Serra and Arraial do Cabo, according to the local government.
Public schools have been converted into shelters, according to an emergency committee set up by the local government and rescue workers.
Strong gusts of wind and intense rainfall also hit the coastline near Sao Paulo, where two children were injured and hospitalized on Friday.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed solidarity with the victims’ families and those affected in a message posted on social media on Saturday evening.
Tragedies of this type “are intensifying with climate change,” said the head of state, who highlighted efforts to strengthen disaster prevention and response, and made teams available to collaborate with local governments.
The storm is due to the arrival of a cold front which wreaked havoc mid-week in Rio Grande do Sul (south), then affected Sao Paulo and Rio, before reaching Espírito Santo, explained the meteorologists from the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet).
Inmet forecasts had anticipated a “severe” storm, particularly in Rio, with precipitation of 200 mm of rain per day between Friday and Sunday.
This volume exceeds the historical average of 141.5 mm estimated for the entire month of March.
The storm comes after a heatwave in the region, where a felt temperature of 62.3ºC was recorded on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil, which is suffering the effects of climate change, is plagued by repeated natural disasters. More than 230 people died in Petropolis in 2022 following heavy rains.