Last Updated: February 20, 2023, 12:23 IST
Highway blocked by a landslide within the municipality of Ubatuba, north coast of the state of Sao Paulo (AFP Photo)
TV and social media footage from the city of Sao Sebastiao confirmed total neighborhoods beneath water, particles from hillside homes swept away by oozing earth, flooded highways and vehicles destroyed by fallen bushes, amongst different harm.
Flooding and landslides triggered by torrential rain in Brazil claimed a minimum of 36 lives on Carnival weekend in southeast Sao Paulo state, authorities mentioned Sunday.
TV and social media footage from the city of Sao Sebastiao confirmed total neighborhoods beneath water, particles from hillside homes swept away by oozing earth, flooded highways and vehicles destroyed by fallen bushes, amongst different harm.
At least 35 individuals died in Sao Sebastiao, the state authorities mentioned. A woman was additionally killed within the city of Ubatuba, information experiences mentioned.
“Unfortunately, we’re going to have many extra deaths,” the state civil defense chief, Henguel Pereira, told the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.
Another 228 people were left homeless and 338 were evacuated in the coastal region north of the city of Sao Paulo, the state government said earlier, as rescue crews raced to help those hit by the storm.
The authorities didn’t give a determine for the way many individuals had been lacking or injured.
Sao Paulo state governor Tarcisio de Freitas declared a state of emergency in five towns along the coast after flying over areas devastated by the weather. He freed up the equivalent of $1.5 million for rescue operations.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Twitter that he will visit the area on Monday. He has been on holiday since Friday in the northeast state of Bahia.
Sao Sebastiao, 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Sao Paulo and where many people from the city spend the pre-Lenten holiday weekend on the beach, was hard hit, as a record 60 centimeters (nearly two feet) of rain fell in 24 hours, city officials said.
That is more than twice the amount that normally falls in a month.
Carnival events in Sao Sebastiao and elsewhere were cancelled.
“We have not yet gauged the scale of the damage. We are trying to rescue the victims,” mentioned Sao Sebastiao Mayor Felipe Augusto, calling the scenario within the city “extraordinarily crucial.”
“We are working at nearly 50 residences that collapsed under the force of the water and there are still people buried,” he informed Globonews.
More than 100 firefighters had been working on the scene, with the help of helicopters.
Soldiers had been additionally collaborating within the race to assist individuals affected by the downpour.
Lula mentioned authorities in any respect ranges would work to “deal with the injured, search for lacking individuals and restore roads, power and telecommunications.”
Amid the loss and destruction, authorities said a boy aged two was rescued from a sea of mud, as was a woman who was giving birth.
Extreme weather events fueled by climate change are taking a heavy toll on Brazil.
Torrential rains last year in the city of Petropolis lead to the death of more than 230 people.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 workers and is printed from a syndicated information company feed)
