The Brazilian city of Petrópolis was again ravaged by torrential rains on Friday morning, three days after a severe thunderstorm killed at least 118 people and covered entire neighborhoods in mud. The alarm sirens blared again Friday morning in the risk areas, where new mudslides threaten.
Police say 116 people are missing, but of the 118 bodies found, only 57 have been identified so far. The most recent but preliminary official figures show that some 849 people have also had to flee their homes.
More than 500 firefighters are still searching for victims with helicopters, excavators and sniffer dogs. The chance of finding survivors is getting smaller and smaller. Hundreds of volunteers, many of whom are residents of the devastated neighborhoods, have also come to lend a hand to the emergency services.
On Tuesday, the tourist city of Petrópolis, which has about 300,000 inhabitants and is located in a mountainous region about 60 kilometers from Rio de Janeiro, received as much rain in one day as there is normally an average of the entire month of February.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has now returned to his country after an official visit to Russia and Hungary. He would go to Petropolis on Friday to fly over the affected areas.
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