At least 38 people have been killed in Brazil as devastating mudslides and floods have swept through a mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro state, local authorities have confirmed.
The city of Petropolis was struck by a deluge on Tuesday, and Mayor Rubens Bomtempo said the number of dead could rise as searchers picked through the wreckage.
The state fire department said late Tuesday the area saw 25.8cm (just over 10in) of rain fall within three hours on Tuesday – almost as much as during the previous 30 days combined.
Governor Claudio Castro said all the state government’s heavy machinery was being called in to help dig out the buried area in a desperate hunt for survivors.
He told journalists that soldiers were already working in the stricken region, which saw almost more than 900 deaths from heavy rainfall in January 2011.
Video posted on social media showed cars and houses being dragged away by landslides, and water swirling through Petropolis and neighbouring districts.
Rosilene Virgilio, 49, was in tears as she recalled the pleas for help from a woman she could not 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,’ Virgilio told The Associated Press.
‘Our city unfortunately is finished.’
An aerial view shows the extent of the damage caused by a landslide in the Brazilian city of Petropolis which has killed at least 38 people
Rescue workers and residents look for victims in an area affected by landslides in Petropolis, Brazil. Heavy rains set off mudslides and floods in a mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro state, killing multiple people, authorities reported
An aerial view on the damage caused by the heavy rains that affect the city of Petropolis where at least 38 people have been killed
Houses were damaged in the landslides which have killed at least 38 people in a mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro state
A man reacts as he looks for his relatives at a mudslide at Morro da Oficina after pouring rains in Petropolis, Brazil. The death toll from the devastating mudslides and floods that swept through a mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro state has reached 38, local authorities said
Residents embrace as they wait for a report for missing relatives in the affected area. Mayor Rubens Bomtempo said the number of dead could rise as searchers picked through the wreckage
People react as they look for victims at a mudslide at Morro da Oficina after pouring rains in Petropolis
People and rescue workers are seen at the site of the landslides searching for survivors after 30 days’ worth of rain fell in just three hours
A fire services rescue team in a helicopter looking for survivors. The state fire department said late Tuesday the area saw 25.8cm (just over 10in) of rain fall within three hours on Tuesday – almost as much as during the previous 30 days combined
A car was submerged in deep flood water after more than ten inches of rain fell in a three hour period on Tuesday
Governor Claudio Castro was speaking to reporters from the scene when he was interrupted by a man carrying a dog which was covered in mud.
Mr Castro said: ‘Our work now is to try to find survivors in this horror scene, to clean and to rescue any bodies that are here.’
The Globo television network showed houses buried beneath mud in areas firefighters had not yet been able to access.
Several streets remained inaccessible Wednesday as cars and household goods piled up, blocking access to higher parts of the city.
‘The neighbours came down running and I gave them shelter,’ bar owner Emerson Torre, 39, recalled.
But under torrents of water, his roof 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.
Video posted on social media showed cars and houses being dragged away by landslides, and water swirling through Petropolis and neighbouring districts
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on a trip to Russia, said on Twitter that he instructed his ministers to deliver immediate support to the afflicted
A rescue worker holds a dog at a site of a mudslide at Morro da Oficina after pouring rains in Petropolis, Brazil
A member of the fire services rescue team lifts rubble to look for survivors of mudslides that have killed at least 38 people in Brazil
Rescue workers using a sniffer dog look for victims in an area affected by the landslides. Extremely heavy rain set of the mudslides and flooding in the mountainous region
A man rescues a dog amid the damage caused by the heavy rains that affected the city of Petropolis, in Brazil
Videos posted on social media showed cars and houses being dragged away by the water and leaving a trail of destruction in the area
‘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.
‘Every neighbour has lost a loved one, has lost two, three, four members of the same family, kids.’
Petropolis’ city hall declared three days of mourning.
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on a trip to Russia, said on Twitter that he instructed his ministers to deliver immediate support to the afflicted.
‘May God comfort the family members of the victims,’ he wrote.
Petropolis is a German-influenced city named for a former emperor.
Nestled in the mountains above the coastal metropolis, for almost two centuries it has been a refuge for people escaping summer heat and tourists keen to explore Brazil’s ‘Imperial City’.
It features stately mansions along its waterways, but its mountainsides are covered with homes packed tightly together, some of which lack proper foundations.
Southeastern 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.
Rescue workers walk at a site of a mudslide at Morro da Oficina after pouring rains in Petropolis, Brazil, on Wednesday
An aerial view on the damage caused by the heavy rains that affect the city of Petropolis where at least 38 people have been killed
Several streets remained inaccessible Wednesday as cars and household goods piled up, blocking access to higher parts of the city
The Globo television network showed houses buried beneath mud in areas firefighters had not yet been able to access
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