Heavy rain causes at least 58 deaths in Brazilian city Petropolis

February 16, 2022

By Rodrigo Viga Gaier and Sebastian Rocandio

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -At least 58 people died after heavy rains hit Petropolis, a city in a mountainous region of Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state, local government officials said on Wednesday, while rescue teams said several more people were missing.

City streets were flooded by downpours, while landslides also resulted in fatalities after rainfall on Tuesday exceeded the average for the entire month of February.

In the Morro da Oficina neighborhood, up to 80 houses were hit by landslides, according to authorities who expect the death toll to rise. Fire department and local civil defense teams were working at the site.

“The situation is almost like war … Cars hanging from poles, cars overturned, lots of mud and water still,” Rio de Janeiro Governor Claudio Castro told reporters onsite.

Petropolis’ city hall declared three days of mourning. Displaced people were being taken to schools and shelters. More than 300 people had to leave their homes.

“The water came very fast and with great force. My loss was 100%. Our life was already tough with the pandemic and less movement, and this tragedy still comes,” said shopkeeper Henrique Pereira.

President Jair Bolsonaro, who is traveling to Russia, said on Twitter he had asked ministers to help the city and the victims of the storm. The governor went to Petropolis on Tuesday night.

“We intend to already offer to the mayor what we can,” Bolsonaro told reporters in Moscow, adding that he would release federal funds to help “restore traffic in the region.”

Since December, heavy rains have triggered deadly floods and landslides in northeast Brazil and Sao Paulo state, threatened to delay harvests in the nation’s central western region and briefly forced the suspension of mining operations in the state of Minas Gerais.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier and Sebastian Rocandio; Writing by Marcela Ayres and Peter Frontini; Editing by Alex Richardson, Grant McCool and Cynthia Osterman)