At least 80 homes in the city near Rio de Janeiro have been hit by mudslides, leaving 370 homeless. Another 180 residents in risk areas are accommodated in schools and other shelter locations. Many houses have been built illegally on mountain slopes prone to landslides.
Hundreds of firefighters and officers have been deployed to assist with salvage and cleanup operations. “We have mobilized teams and machines and will do whatever it takes to rebuild the city and ease the pain of the families,” said Rio de Janeiro governor Claudio Castro.
Rainfall
On Tuesday, more rain fell in the region in six hours than had been predicted for the entire month of February, television channel Climatempo reports.
In recent months, dozens of people have been killed by storms in several Brazilian states. More than 900 people died in a storm in the mountains around Rio de Janeiro in 2011. This is considered the worst storm disaster in the country’s history. Petropolis was also hit then.