A week after the violent storms which devastated the Brazilian city of Petropolis, the balance sheet rose, Tuesday, February 22, to 186 dead, while the search for dozens of missing continued.
Since floods and landslides caused by torrential rains on February 15, rescuers have found the bodies of “113 women and 73 men”said the local police, adding that among them, “33 victims were children”.
Police say 69 people are still missing, a figure that has fallen in recent days as bodies have been identified or families have found loved ones safe and sound. In addition, more than 800 people who had to leave their homes located in risk areas were still housed in emergency reception facilities on Tuesday.
A series of deadly rains
A week ago to the day, it rained in a few hours in the evening more than the average for the month of February in this tourist city of 300,000 inhabitants located 60 km north of Rio de Janeiro (southeast).
Landslides destroyed dozens of hillside homes and flooding caused riverbeds to overflow, uprooting trees, overturning vehicles and blanketing streets in thick mud.
Over the past three months, Brazil has been hit by other deadly rains that have claimed dozens of lives, particularly in the states of Bahia (northeast) and Minas Gerais (southeast). According to specialists, these extreme weather phenomena are becoming more frequent due to climate change.