Torrential rains caused floods and landslides in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, killing at least ten people, including eight children and nine missing, authorities announced on Saturday.
Two days of heavy rainfall have hit a large area of the Atlantic coast of the southeastern state of Brazil, the latest in a series of deadly weather events that experts say are exacerbated by climate change.
The rains come six weeks after flash floods and landslides killed 233 people in St. Petersburg, also in the same state.
This time, the worst-hit areas include the popular resort of Parati, where a mother and six of children aged 2 to 17 died in a landslide, authorities said. A seventh child who survived is hospitalized and his health condition remains stable.
Four other people were injured and 219 houses were damaged, seven of which were completely swept away, added the Parati authorities, who identified 71 families to be relocated to other homes.
Two other children died in Angra dos Reyes, where authorities declared a state of emergency and four houses were destroyed in the same area.
In Mesquita, a 38-year-old man died of an electric shock while trying to help another person escape the floods, according to media reports.
These heavy rains fell in the state of Rio de Janeiro for two days. On Friday night, they turned the streets of many cities into torrents and caused landslides, a frequent occurrence during the rainy season, especially in poor neighborhoods on the hillside.
In Angra dos Reyes, 655 millimeters of rain fell in 48 hours, “levels never seen before,” according to city officials who mobilized all their teams to help the population.
The federal government has announced the deployment of military aircraft to assist in search and rescue efforts.
Experts warn that the rainy season in Brazil is exacerbated by the phenomenon of La Nina, which is characterized by sea temperatures that are colder than usual in the equatorial region of the Pacific Ocean, which is probably caused by global warming.
The risk and intensity of floods from extreme rainfall increases when the atmosphere is warmer and retains water.
In January, torrential rains caused floods and landslides that killed at least 28 people in southeastern Brazil, mostly in the state of Sao Paulo.
Heavy rains also fell in the northeastern state of Bahia, where 24 people lost their lives in December.
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