After heavy rain and sloping slopes, many people are still missing in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro – and the death toll continues to rise.
Petrópolis – After landslides and floods caused by heavy rain, the number of dead in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro has now risen to at least 204.
This was reported by the Brazilian news portal “G1”, citing the fire department. At least 51 more people were still missing, according to “G1”. Almost 1000 people became homeless.
Difficult search for missing persons
The search is repeatedly hampered by wind and persistent rain. It had rained so heavily on Tuesday evening that streets in Petrópolis were flooded again. Many of the relatives and friends are looking for missing people themselves – like the father of a teenager who was torn into a river on a bus.
“There’s no use talking to one, talking to the other and wasting time while my son is there somewhere and a lot of other people are there somewhere too,” quoted Leandro da Rocha as saying. “We have to find her.”
According to the weather station Climatempo, on Tuesday last week it rained more in six hours than had been expected for the whole month of February. Slopes slid, roads were flooded, cars and even buses were swept away by the water masses. “It was the worst rain in Petrópolis since 1932,” said Rio de Janeiro state governor Cláudio Castro.
Shaped by German immigrants, Petrópolis was once the summer residence of the Brazilian imperial family. Today, the city is a popular vacation spot for Rio residents due to its high altitude and cool climate during the southern hemisphere summer months. dpa
