Flooding rains and mudslides leave at least 38 dead in Petropolis a mountain resort town in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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At least 38 people died in mudslides and floods when torrential rains swept a mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro state, and there were fears the toll could rise as authorities check the damaged areas.
Brazil’s National Civil Defence group says 301 people have been left homeless from the disaster. More than 180 soldiers are helping authorities search for survivors. The area received 25.8 centimetres of rain within three hours on Tuesday – almost a month’s worth of rain
Rosilene Virgilio, 49, was in tears Wednesday as she recalled the pleas for help from a woman she couldn’t save.
“Yesterday there was a woman screaming ‘Help! Get me out of here!’ But we couldn’t do anything, the water was gushing out, the mud was gushing out,” she said. “Our city unfortunately is finished.”
The country’s National Civil Defence group announced via Twitter the disaster had left 301 people homeless and advised residents to avoid transiting to the city.
The state fire department said late Tuesday that more than 180 soldiers were already working in the stricken Petropolis region, which saw hundreds of deaths from heavy rainfall in 2011.
The department said the area got 25.8 centimetres of rain within three hours Tuesday — almost as much as during the previous 30 days combined.
The Governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro Claudio Castro said that machinery and equipment would be sent to the Petropolis region to help authorities.
Mr Castro said on Twitter 120 firefighters were currently working in the area, with 60 more to be dispatched to assist.
Eight ambulances have also been send to help victims.
Residents try to help those caught in water
Footage posted on social media showed cars and houses being dragged away by landslides and water swirling through the city of Petropolis and neighbouring districts.
“The neighbours came down running and I gave them shelter,” bar owner Emerson Torre, 39, told The Associated Press.
But under torrents of water, the roofing collapsed.
He managed to get his mother and three other people out of the bar in time, but one neighbour and the person’s daughter were unable to escape.
“It was like an avalanche, it fell all at once. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Mr Torre said, as rescue helicopters hovered overhead.
Read: Deadly flooding and mudslides in Sao Paulo, Brazil
“Every neighbour has lost a loved one, has lost two, three, four members of the same family, kids.”
Petropolis’ city hall said in a statement that the heavy rains left “a high number of incidents and victims” and that rescue and recovery efforts were continuing.
PM sends support to region
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on a trip to Russia, said on Twitter that he instructed his ministers to deliver immediate support to those affected.
“May God comfort the family members of the victims,” he wrote.
South-eastern Brazil has been punished with heavy rains since the start of the year, with more than 40 deaths recorded between incidents in Minas Gerais state in early January and Sao Paulo state later the same month. Read more from NBC
