Petropolis (Brazil): The death toll due to floods and landslides in the mountainous region of Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state has risen to 58. The above information was given in a statement issued by the local authorities early on Wednesday. Relief and rescue operations are still underway in the worst-hit Petropolis, and Mayor Rubens Bomtempo says the casualties could rise. So far 21 people have been successful in saving them safely.
Hundreds of people died in the region in 2011 due to heavy rains. Amid relief and rescue operations, 49-year-old Rosaline Virgilio couldn’t stop crying on Wednesday as she remembered the cries of a woman trapped under the rubble she could not save.
He said, “Yesterday a woman was shouting for help. Get me out of here But we couldn’t do anything. Debris of water and soil was sinking in.”
“Unfortunately our city has been ruined,” he said. Governor Claudio Castro told reporters on Wednesday that it was a “war-like situation” and that he was seeking all possible help, including heavy machinery, from neighboring states to clear debris from the affected areas. The state fire department said in a statement late Tuesday that 180 soldiers were involved in the rescue operation.
The department said that the area received 25.8 cm of rain within three hours of the day, which is equal to the rainfall received in the previous 30 days. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is visiting Russia, tweeted that he has instructed his ministers to immediately help those affected by the rains.
