The number of heavy rains pouring down from Tuesday in the Recife region, the state capital of Pernambuco, in northeastern Brazil, rose to 56 dead on Sunday, as rescuers try to find 56 missing person.
As of Sunday, 56 have been confirmed dead and 56 others are missing in the municipalities of Recife and Olinda. There are also 3957 homelessPernambuco Civil Defense said in a statement.
During the silence that ensued on Sunday morning, about 1,200 men with helicopters and boats continued the search.
The storm caused landslides in the hills, overflowing rivers and large streams of mud that swept everyone in their path.
Footage released by local authorities on Sunday shows rescuers and volunteers cleaning up debris at Jardim Monteverde, on the border between Recife and the municipality of Jaboatao dos Guararapes.
The landslide killed 19 people
In this region where there are slums the biggest tragedy happened on Saturday morning, when a landslide killed 19 people.
Eleven of the victims in this landslide were relatives of Luiz Estevao Aguiar, TV Globo tearfully asked.
” My sister is dead, my brother-in-law is dead, eleven people in my family are dead […]. It’s hard. It’s very difficult. I didn’t expect it. “
Behind him, a chain of people, their feet sunk in the mud, passed through buckets of debris rolling down the hill.
Authorities warned that heavy rain was expected on Sunday, but the storm finally subsided in the morning.
Between Friday night and Saturday morning, the rainfall amount reached 70% of the average expected for the whole of May in parts of Pernambuco.
” Although the rain has stopped, we expect heavy rain in the coming days. The first thing to do is to maintain self -protection measures. “
Minister Ferreira flew to the disaster area along with other Brazilian officials.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Sunday morning that he would travel to Recife on Monday.
Meteorologist Estael Sias, from the MetSul agency, explained to AFP that the heavy rains affecting Pernambuco and, to a lesser extent, four other states in the northeast of the country were the result of a phenomenon which is typical of this period. of the year. , The eastern wavei.e., areas of atmospheric turbulence moving from the African continent to the coastal region of Brazil.
” In other parts of the Atlantic, this instability generates hurricanes, but in northeastern Brazil it has the potential to cause a lot of rainfall, including hurricanes. “
Photos from the weekend are reminiscent of the tragedy that occurred in February in Petrópolis, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, in which 233 people died during heavy rains and mudslides.
According to experts, this type of tragedy is also a result of the topography of the area. The presence of large slums, with houses often illegally built in steep risky areas, contributes to the phenomenon.
Source: Radio-Canada
