At least 94 people were killed in the heaviest rains in 90 years in Brazil’s former imperial city of Petrópolis, where a race against time was raging Wednesday to find any survivors under the mud and debris.
As of Wednesday night, “94 deaths have been confirmed,” reported the Civil Defense of the state of Rio de Janeiro in its latest report.
A figure that continues to grow with the passing of the hours, after the storm that on Tuesday afternoon caused almost 300 landslides in the mountain city, located 68 km north of Rio.
“It was the worst rain since 1932,” declared the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro. “It’s a theater of war,” he added.
Several roads in Petrópolis were turned into fast-flowing rivers that swept everything away as they passed and left a trail of houses reduced to rubble and vehicles piled up between the water and the mud.
Some parts of the city 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.
Some 24 people were rescued alive.
Rio de Janeiro’s Public Ministry said 35 people were “registered” as missing on its people locator service, though firefighters and other authorities in charge of rescues did not confirm an official number of missing.
Videos viralized on social networks and broadcast on television showed chilling images, such as people trying to get out of buses completely submerged in the middle of the current, or the story of a mother who lost her 1-year-old baby.
“At times I think it’s a nightmare, that I’ll wake up and she’ll be here. I waited 9 years to get pregnant, to do it right, to have conditions, and I was only able to enjoy one year with my daughter,” Giselli Carvalho confessed to the G1 news portal.
“No one expected it, it was desperate, very sad. I have friends who are missing,” Elisabeth Pio Lourenço, 32, a resident of the devastated Alto da Serra neighborhood, told AFP.
Risks of new landslides
The church of Santo Antonio, close to the disaster area, opened its doors to welcome more than 150 people, evacuated from their homes due to flooding or the danger of landslides due to the storm.
“Many of those who arrive have lost everything, or lost their relatives. It’s a difficult situation,” Celestino, the church’s pastor, explained to AFP.
Some 400 soldiers were working on relief tasks at the scene together with Civil Defense teams and firefighters, with dogs, bulldozers, trucks, boats and a dozen aircraft.
The Brazilian government warned 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”.
During his visit to Russia, President Jair Bolsonaro wished that “God comfort the relatives” of the victims of the “catastrophe” in Petrópolis, during a joint press conference with the host, Vladimir Putin, whom he thanked for his solidarity in the face of what happened.
The president confirmed that he will visit the area on Friday, when he returns.
“The accumulated rainfall (…) is unusual,” said meteorologist Estael Sias in a note on the MetSul site, where she assures that this disaster “is neither the first nor will it be the last,” given the climatic, topographical and and population of the region.
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.
In January 2011, more than 900 people died in the mountainous region of Rio state due to heavy rains, which caused floods and landslides in a vast area, including Petrópolis and its neighbors Nova Friburgo, Itaipava and Teresópolis.
Petrópolis, with 300,000 inhabitants, is a tourist city due to its historical value, the surrounding nature and a more pleasant climate compared to coastal Rio de Janeiro, due to its height.
In the past it was the summer resort of the former Brazilian Imperial Court. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, it was a vital point on the road between Rio and Minas Gerais that charmed Emperor Pedro I with its climate and landscape. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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