At least 36 people died during the weekend of Carnival in southeast Sao Paulo State as a result of flooding and landslides brought on by severe rain in Brazil, according to authorities.
News and social media footage from the municipality of São Sebastiao displayed numerous damages, including entire neighbourhoods submerged under water, hillside house rubble washed away by leaking dirt, flooded roadways, and cars totalled by falling trees.
According to the state authorities, Sao Sebastiao saw at least 35 fatalities. According to news sources, a girl was also killed in the town of Ubatuba.
Henguel Pereira, the head of the state’s civil defence, told the daily Folha de Sao Paulo, “Unfortunately, we are going to have many more deaths.”
The state government previously reported that 338 people were evacuated and another 228 were left homeless in the coastal area north of Sao Paulo as rescue workers rushed to aid those affected by the storm.
The number of people who were either missing or hurt was not disclosed by the police.
Tarcisio de Freitas, governor of Sao Paulo state, flew over weather-devastated districts and proclaimed an emergency in five coastal municipalities. He made the equivalent of $1.5 million available for rescue efforts.
On Monday, the region will welcome President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who announced the visit through Twitter. He has been on vacation in the Bahia state of northeast Brazil since Friday.
A record 60 centimetres (almost two feet) of rain fell in 24 hours at Sao Sebastiao, 200 kilometres (120 miles) north of Sao Paulo, where many residents of the city spent the pre-Lenten holiday weekend on the beach.
It amounts to more than twice what typically falls in a month.
Carnival activities were postponed in São Sebastiao and other cities.
“We still haven’t determined the extent of the damage. Mayor of Sao Sebastiao Felipe Augusto described the situation in the town as “very grave” and added, “We are trying to rescue the victims.”
He said to Globonews, “We are working at over 50 homes that collapsed under the force of the flood and there are still people buried.”
With the aid of aircraft, more than 100 firemen were on the scene.
Soldiers were also competing in the race to assist those harmed by the downpour.
To “take care of the injured, hunt for missing individuals, and restore roads, energy, and telecommunications,” Lula promised, “government at all levels will work.”
Authorities reported that a woman giving delivery and a two-year-old toddler were both saved from a sea of mud amidst the loss and destruction.
Brazil is suffering greatly as a result of extreme weather occurrences brought on by climate change.
More than 230 people died as a result of torrential rainfall in the Petropolis last year.
AFP