At least eleven people lost their lives during a violent storm that hit southeastern Brazil on Friday March 22, particularly the mountainous region of the state of Rio de Janeiro where authorities described the situation as “critical.”
The Rio state government has confirmed four deaths in the collapse of a house and a small building in Petropolis, a tourist town about 70 kilometers from the state capital.
A team from Agence France-Presse (AFP) witnessed on Saturday morning the rescue of a little girl who had been buried for sixteen hours under the rubble, and the discovery of her father’s body near her.
“The father heroically protected the little girl with his body and she was saved (…) We are in pain, but grateful for this miracle,” Luis Claudio de Souza, 63, a neighbor and owner of the property, told AFP. ‘a neighborhood bar.
The situation in Petropolis is “critical,” due to “intense rains and the overflowing of the Quitandinha River,” Governor Claudio Castro warned Friday on social media.
In total, the state of Rio has recorded seven deaths since Friday due to rains, including others in Teresopolis, Santa Cruz da Serra and Arraial do Cabo, according to the government. Furthermore, the civil defense of Espírito Santo confirmed four deaths in the south of the territory on Saturday afternoon. Two children were also injured and hospitalized Friday in rain-related incidents on the coast of Sao Paulo.
230 dead in Petropolis in 2022 after heavy rains
The storm is due to the arrival of a cold front that wreaked havoc mid-week in Rio Grande do Sul, in the south of the country, before hitting Sao Paulo and Rio and reaching Espirito Santo, they said. explained meteorologists from the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet).
The severity of the flooding was illustrated by aerial images released by firefighters, showing the town of Mimoso do Sul under water.
Inmet’s forecast had anticipated a “severe” storm, particularly in Rio, with precipitation of 200 millimeters of rain per day between Friday and Sunday. This volume exceeds the historical average of 141.5 millimeters estimated for the entire month of March.
The storm comes after a heatwave in the region, where a felt temperature of 62.3°C was recorded in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.
Brazil, which is suffering the effects of climate change, is plagued by repeated natural disasters. More than 230 people died in Petropolis in 2022 following heavy rains.